VMware View Planner Installation and User`s Gu

Transcription

VMware View Planner
Installation and User’s Guide
Version 3.5
(Interim document release; please check in late November, 2014 for an updated version.)
October 27, 2014
VMware View Planner
Installation and User’s Guide
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:
[email protected]
© 2009-2014 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual
property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents.
VMware, the VMware “boxes” logo and design, Virtual SMP, and VMotion are registered trademarks or trademarks of
VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks
of their respective companies.
Revision: 20141027
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3401 Hillview Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com
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Contents
View Planner Preparation Checklist
11
Preparing View Planner 12
Prepare the Prerequisites for View Planner 12
Obtain, Deploy, and Configure the View Planner Controller Appliance 12
Perform a Single-VM Local Mode Test 12
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test 12
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test 13
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test 13
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test 13
Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test 13
Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test 13
Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test 13
Perform a View Planner Run 13
See and Submit the View Planner Results 13
Introduction 15
View Planner as a Benchmark 15
View Planner as a Configurable Tool 15
View Planner Support 16
View Planner Flexible Mode Support 16
View Planner Benchmark Mode Support 16
Intended Audience 16
View Planner Overview 17
View Planner Versions 18
View Planner 3.5 18
View Planner 3.0.1.1 18
View Planner 3.0.1 18
View Planner 3.0 18
View Planner 2.1 19
View Planner 2.0 19
View Planner Operation 20
User Interface 20
View Planner High-Level Architecture (Remote Mode) 21
View Planner High-Level Architecture (Passive Mode) 22
View Planner High-Level Architecture (Local Mode) 23
View Planner Results and Scoring Methodology 24
View Planner Workload Applications and User Operations 24
View Planner Run Phases 26
View Planner Quality of Service 26
View Planner Benchmark Scores 26
View Planner Flexible Mode Requirements 27
View Planner Flexible Mode Hardware and Infrastructure Requirements 27
View Planner Flexible Mode Server Hardware Requirements 27
View Planner Flexible Mode Storage Infrastructure Requirements 28
View Planner Flexible Mode Network Infrastructure Requirements 28
View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements 29
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VMware View Planner Installation and User’s Guide
VMware vCenter Server 29
VMware ESX 29
VMware View 29
VMware View Composer 29
Active Directory Server 29
DHCP Server 30
Desktop Virtual Machine Operating Systems 30
Client Virtual Machine Operating System Version 30
Applications and Appliances 30
Technology Previews 31
View Planner Benchmark Requirements 32
View Planner Benchmark Hardware and Infrastructure Requirements 32
View Planner Benchmark Server Hardware Requirements 32
View Planner Benchmark Storage Infrastructure Requirements 33
View Planner Benchmark Network Infrastructure Requirements 33
View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements 33
VMware vCenter Server 33
VMware ESX 34
VMware View 34
VMware View Composer 34
Active Directory Server 34
DHCP Server 34
Desktop Virtual Machine Operating Systems 34
Client Virtual Machine Operating System Version 34
Applications and Appliances 34
View Planner Benchmark Run Requirements 35
1 View Planner Setup and Provisioning 37
Review the View Planner Usage and Disclosure Restrictions 37
Prepare the Prerequisites for View Planner 37
Deploy an Active Directory Server 38
Deploy VMware ESX/ESXi on Hosts 38
Deploy a VMware Virtual Center Server Virtual Machine 38
Obtain, Deploy, and Configure the View Planner Controller Appliance 39
Obtain the View Planner Controller Appliance 39
Deploy the View Planner Controller Appliance 39
Configure Your View Planner Controller Appliance 39
Customize View Planner for Your vCenter Installation 40
Perform a Single-VM Local Mode Test 42
Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine 42
Create a Single-VM Local Mode Run Profile 42
Run a Single-VM Local Mode Test 42
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test 44
Configure Your Active Directory Server System 44
Install the View Planner Agent in the Active Directory Server 44
Create the Client Template Virtual Machine 45
Customize View Planner for Your AD Installation 45
Create a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Run Profile 46
Run a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test 47
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test 48
Deploy VMware View 48
Configure View 48
Customize View Planner for Your View Installations 48
Install the View Planner Agent in View 49
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Contents
Configure View to Use External URLs 49
Use View to Create a Manual Pool of Desktop Virtual Machines 50
Create a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Run Profile 50
Run a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test 50
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test 52
Create an RDS Server Farm 52
Create an RDS Server Pool 52
Create an RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Run Profile 52
Run a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test 53
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test 54
Create an RDS Server Farm 54
Create an Application Pool 54
Create an RDS Application Session PCoIP Run Profile 54
Run a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test 55
Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test 56
Enable View Composer on View 56
Use View to Provision a Pool of Desktop Linked Clones 56
Use vCenter to Provision Client Linked Clones 56
Create a Multi-VM VDI Run Profile 58
Run a Multi-VM VDI Test 58
Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test 60
Create an RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Run Profile 60
Run a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test 61
Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test 62
Create an RDSH Application Session PCoIP Run Profile 62
Run a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test 63
2 View Planner Execution 65
Configure the View Planner Workload 65
Start a View Planner Run 66
Monitor a View Planner Run 67
3 View Planner Reporting 69
Review the View Planner Usage and Disclosure Restrictions 69
See View Planner Results 69
See View Planner Results Through the Web Interface 69
The View Planner Reporting Script 70
View Planner Reporting Script Output Files 70
Run the View Planner Reporting Script 70
Results of Runs Using ThinApp or a Nonstandard User Operation Set 71
Results of Runs Using ThinApp 71
Results of Runs Using a Subset of the Standardized User Operations 71
Results of Runs Using Custom Operations or Applications 72
Creating and Submitting a View Planner Benchmark Full Disclosure Report 72
Edit the disclosure.HTML File 72
Submit the Benchmark Results for Review 73
A Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine 75
Create the Desktop Template Virtual Machines 75
Install Microsoft Windows in the Template Virtual Machine
Install Microsoft Windows XP Professional 78
Install Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise 79
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Install Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 80
Install Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise 81
Install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or 2012 R2 Enterprise 81
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Microsoft Windows 82
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows XP Virtual Machines 82
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows 7 or Server 2008 Virtual Machines 82
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 Virtual Machines 83
Install Windows Updates 84
Update Windows XP 84
Update Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 84
Update Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 85
Add the Desktop Template Virtual Machine to the Dedicated Domain 86
Add a Windows XP System to the Dedicated Domain 86
Add a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 System to the Dedicated Domain 86
Add a Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 System to the Dedicated Domain 87
Install the Remote Desktop Licensing Role Service in Windows Server 2008 or 2012 89
Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine 90
Install the View Agent 92
Install the View Agent in the Desktop Virtual Machine 92
Take a Snapshot of the Virtual Machine 92
Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software 93
Download the View Planner Agent Software File 93
Install the View Planner Agent Software File 93
B Create and Prepare the Client Template Virtual Machine 95
Create the Client Template Virtual Machine 95
Install Microsoft Windows in the Template Virtual Machine 97
Install Microsoft Windows XP Professional 97
Install Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise 98
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Microsoft Windows 100
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows XP Virtual Machines 100
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows 7 Virtual Machines 100
Install Windows Updates 102
Update Windows XP 102
Update Windows 7 103
Install the View Client 104
Install the View Client in the Client Virtual Machine 104
Take a Snapshot of the Virtual Machine 104
Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software 105
Download the View Planner Agent Software 105
Install the View Planner Agent Software 105
C Create a Customization Specification 107
Download and Install the Sysprep Deployment Tool 107
Create the Customization Specifications 107
Create the Desktop Customization Specification 107
Create the Client Customization Specification 108
D Optional and Advanced Configurations, Settings, and Tasks 109
Set Time Zone in View Planner Appliance 109
Change Security Settings for the View Server and AD Host Operating Systems 109
Disable Open File Security Warning 110
Disable Internet Explorer Security Settings Check 110
Increase Concurrent Power-Ons and Workload Starts 110
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Avoid Unneeded Desktop Power-Cycles 111
Enable Security Server Support 111
Enable Horizon Support 112
Enable Blast Protocol Support 112
Configure View Planner to Use a Dummy Active Directory Agent 113
Configure View Planner to Use VMs From All Datacenters 114
Use vCenter to Provision Desktop Virtual Machines 115
Use the View Planner Command-Line Interface 116
Use ThinApp with View Planner 116
Audio-Video Benchmark (AVBench) 117
Mouse Drag and Scroll Benchmark (UEBench) 118
Upgrading from View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1 to View Planner 3.5 119
E Using Custom Applications in View Planner 121
Automating Custom Applications 121
Command-Line-Based Automation 121
GUI-Based Automation 121
API-Based Automation 121
Enabling Custom Applications 123
Download and Install AutoIT on the Desktop Template Virtual Machine 123
Determine the Names of your Custom Applications 123
Edit the Configuration File 123
Write Your Custom AutoIT Script 124
Test Your Custom AutoIT Script 125
Register Your Custom Applications In the View Planner Controller Database 125
Design Considerations 126
Lifecycle 126
Idempotent Operations 126
Timing 126
Initialization and Corner Cases 126
Additional Resources 127
Custom Application Template AutoIT Code 128
F Troubleshooting 131
General Troubleshooting 131
Troubleshooting the View Planner Controller Appliance 131
Troubleshooting the Client, Desktop, View and AD Virtual Machines 131
Troubleshoot Setup and Provisioning 131
Verify that View Planner Agent Services are Running in the View and AD Servers 131
Desktop or Client Virtual Machine Connectivity Issues 132
Troubleshoot Provisioning Using View 132
View Pool Creation Fails 132
Connecting to a View Desktop using PCoIP Fails with a Black Screen 132
Troubleshoot the Run Test Stage 134
Monitor the viewplanner.log File During the Run Test Stage 134
Workload Fails in Desktop Virtual Machine 135
Error Log Mentions “Stale Objects” for View or Active Directory 135
View Planner Ceases to Make Progress 135
Miscellaneous Tips 137
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Figures
Figure 1. Conceptual Diagram of Typical VMware View Planner Layout
Figure 2. VMware View Planner Operation (Remote Mode) 21
Figure 3. VMware View Planner Operation (Passive Mode) 22
Figure 4. VMware View Planner Operation (Local Mode) 23
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Many of the operations required to configure a View Planner test system can be performed in parallel to save
time (for example, while the operating system is being installed in one virtual machine, you can be installing
applications in another).
The checklist in this section is designed to help track which tasks have been completed and which remain to
be done. This is highly abbreviated and is intended for use in conjunction with the detailed material elsewhere
in the book.
NOTE When this document is viewed electronically, clicking on the cross references (for example, “on
page 39”) brings you to the cross-reference target, while <Alt><BackArrow> brings you back to referring page.
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Preparing View Planner
Use the following checklist to help when preparing a View Planner installation.
Prepare the Prerequisites for View Planner
F
Review the View Planner EULA and the Run and Reporting Rules (on page 37).
F
Prepare the View Planner prerequisites (on page 37).
F
Deploy an Active Directory Server (on page 38).
F
Deploy ESX/ESXi on hosts (on page 38).
F
Deploy a VMware Virtual Center server VM (on page 38).
Obtain, Deploy, and Configure the View Planner Controller Appliance
F
Obtain the View Planner Controller Appliance (on page 39).
F
Deploy the View Planner Controller Appliance (on page 39).
F
Configure your View Planner Controller Appliance (on page 39).
F
Customize View Planner for your vCenter installation (on page 40).
Perform a Single-VM Local Mode Test
F
Create and configure the desktop template VM:
Create a desktop template VM (on page 75).
Install Windows in the desktop template VM (on page 78).
Install the VMware Tools suite in the desktop template VM (on page 82).
Install Windows updates in the desktop template VM (on page 84).
Add the desktop template VM to the View Planner private dedicated domain (on page 86).
Install the Remote Desktop Licensing Role Service in the desktop template VM (on page 89).
Install applications in the desktop template VM (on page 90).
Download the View Agent and install it in the desktop template VM (on page 92).
Take a snapshot of the desktop template VM (on page 92).
Download the View Planner agent software and install it in the desktop template VM (on page 93).
F
Create a single-VM local mode run profile (on page 42).
F
Run a single-VM local mode test (on page 42).
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test
F
Configure your Active Directory server system (on page 44).
F
Create and configure the client template VM:
Create a client template VM (on page 95).
Install Windows in the client template VM (on page 97).
Install the VMware Tools suite in the client template VM (on page 100).
Install Windows updates in the client template VM (on page 102).
Download the View Client and install it in the client template VM (on page 104).
Take a snapshot of the client template VM (on page 104).
Download the View Planner agent software and install it in the client template VM (on page 105).
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F
Customize View Planner for you Active Directory installation (on page 45).
F
Create a single-VM remote mode RDP run profile (on page 46).
F
Run a single-VM remote mode RDP test (on page 47).
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Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test
F
Deploy a VMware View system (on page 48).
F
Configure your VMware View system (on page 48).
F
Create a manual pool of desktop VMs (on page 50).
F
Create a single-VM remote mode View PCoIP run profile (on page 50).
F
Run a single-VM remote mode View PCoIP test (on page 50).
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test
F
Create an RDS server farm (on page 52).
F
Create an RDS server pool (on page 52).
F
Create a single-VM remote mode RDSH desktop session PCoIP run profile (on page 52).
F
Run a single-VM remote mode RDSH desktop session PCoIP test (on page 53).
Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test
F
Create an RDS server farm (on page 54).
F
Create an RDS application pool (on page 54).
F
Create a single-VM remote mode RDSH application session PCoIP run profile (on page 54).
F
Run a single-VM remote mode RDSH application session PCoIP test (on page 55).
Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test
F
Enable View Composer on View Server (on page 56).
F
Use View to provision a pool of desktop linked clones (on page 56).
F
Use vCenter to provision client linked clones (on page 56).
F
Create a multi-VM VDI run profile (on page 58).
F
Run a multi-VM VDI test (on page 58).
Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test
F
Use vCenter to provision client linked clones, if needed (on page 60).
F
Create a multi-VM RDSH desktop session PCoIP run profile (on page 60).
F
Run a multi-VM RDSH desktop session PCoIP test (on page 61).
Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test
F
Use vCenter to provision client linked clones, if needed (on page 62).
F
Create a multi-VM RDSH application session PCoIP run profile (on page 62).
F
Run a multi-VM RDSH application session PCoIP test (on page 63).
Perform a View Planner Run
F
Configure the View Planner workload (on page 65).
F
Start a View Planner run (on page 66).
F
Monitor the View Planner run (on page 67).
See and Submit the View Planner Results
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F
Review the View Planner EULA and the Run and Reporting Rules (on page 69).
F
See the View Planner results (on page 69).
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F
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Create and submit a View Planner benchmark full disclosure report (on page 72).
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Introduction
VMware View Planner is a tool designed to simulate a large-scale deployment of virtualized desktop systems
and study its effects on an entire virtualized infrastructure. The tool is scalable from a few virtual machines
running on one VMware ESX host up to hundreds of virtual machines distributed across a cluster of ESX hosts.
View Planner assists in the setup and configuration of the testing infrastructure, runs a set of application
operations selected to be representative of real-world user applications, and reports data on the latencies of
those operations.
View Planner can be used either as the specifically defined View Planner benchmark or as a general
configurable tool (called “flexible mode”).
NOTE The benchmark release of View Planner can be used only in benchmark mode. Use of View Planner in
flexible mode requires the download of a different release, as described in “View Planner Flexible Mode
Support” on page 16.
View Planner as a Benchmark
Beginning with version 3.0, View Planner can be run as a benchmark. View Planner benchmark scores are the
result of runs made using a standardized subset of the View Planner configuration options. The View Planner
Run and Reporting Rules detail these configuration requirements, as well as the rules regarding publication of
results.
Publication of the results of runs made using non-standard configuration options is permitted only under a
limited set of academic and research rules, also detailed in the View Planner Run and Reporting Rules (available
on the VMware web site).
No publication (including dissemination to the public in any form) of any View Planner results is allowed
except in compliance with the View Planner Run and Reporting Rules and the relevant product End User License
Agreements.
View Planner as a Configurable Tool
When used as a general configurable tool (called “flexible mode,” as opposed to benchmark mode, described
above), View Planner accommodates many testing and usage scenarios. Some of the various configuration
options include:
Three different run modes:

Remote mode: pairs one desktop virtual machine to each client virtual machine for a fully-representative
usage scenario.

Passive mode: pairs multiple desktop virtual machines to each client virtual machine, thus reducing
hardware requirements while still providing some of the benefits of remote mode.

Local mode: minimizes required hardware by using no client virtual machines.
Two different management level options:
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vCenter Server alone (i.e, without VMware View)

VMware View
Various display protocols:

Microsoft RDP

View RDP

View PCoIP
A selection of applications to run in the workload:

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Internet Explorer

document browse

picture album browse

Mozilla Firefox

Adobe Reader

Archiving software

Video playback software

Custom applications
NOTE For further information about using custom applications, refer to “Using Custom Applications in
View Planner” on page 121. This feature can be useful for internal testing. Runs containing custom
applications, however, can’t be used for publication of benchmark scores.
View Planner Support
The support available for View Planner varies depending on whether you are using the flexible mode release
or the benchmark mode release.
View Planner Flexible Mode Support
The flexible mode release of View Planner is available through the VMware Professional Services
Organization. Support for this release is provided through the normal VMware partner support channel
(phone: 1-650-427-7550; email: [email protected]).
Support for the flexible mode release is also available through the VMware Communities:
https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/servicessoftware/view_planner
View Planner Benchmark Mode Support
The benchmark mode release of View Planner is provided as a free tool. Support for this release is provided
through the VMware Communities:
https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/servicessoftware/view_planner
Intended Audience
This document is intended for anyone who wants to install and run View Planner. The information is written
for experienced Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar with virtual machine technology
and datacenter operations.
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Introduction
View Planner Overview
VMware View Planner consists of the following components:

a number of desktop virtual machines running on one or more ESX hosts.

a number of client virtual machines running on one or more ESX hosts (only used in the case of
remote-mode and passive-mode runs; not used for local-mode runs).

a single controller appliance running on an ESX host.
Figure 1 shows a conceptual overview of a typical View Planner layout.
Figure 1. Conceptual Diagram of Typical VMware View Planner Layout
View Planner controller appliance
vCenter Server
ESX host
View Server
(optional)
AD Server
(optional for
local-mode tests)
Client virtual
machines
(not used in
local-mode tests)
Desktop
virtual
machines
ESX hosts
Network
ESX hosts
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View Planner Versions
This section describes the previous and current View Planner versions.
View Planner 3.5
View Planner 3.5, described in this document, includes the following major changes:

Support for VMware Horizon 6 features.

Support for RDSH desktops and applications.

Support for Windows 7 32-bit and Windows 7 64-bit clients.

The View Planner controller appliance now uses a 64-bit version of SLES (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server).

Two new workloads in tech preview, Audio-Video Benchmark (AVBench) and Mouse Drag and Scroll
Benchmark (UEBench). (Both available in flexible mode only, not part of the benchmark mode)
NOTE Scores obtained using View Planner 3.5 are directly comparable with scores obtained using View
Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1, but are not comparable to any version prior to 3.0.
View Planner 3.0.1.1
View Planner 3.0.1.1, included the following major changes:

Fixes a Bash shell vulnerability in View Planner 3.0.1.

Various minor bug fixes.
NOTE Scores obtained using View Planner 3.0.1.1 are directly comparable with scores obtained using View
Planner 3.0 or 3.0.1, but are not comparable to any version prior to 3.0.
View Planner 3.0.1
View Planner 3.0.1, included the following major changes:

Support for View 5.3

Support for vSphere 5.5

Reporting enhancements and minor fixes.
NOTE Scores obtained using View Planner 3.0.1 are directly comparable with scores obtained using View
Planner 3.0, but are not comparable to any version prior to 3.0.
View Planner 3.0
View Planner 3.0, included the following major changes:
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A completely redesigned user interface

Support for View 5.1 and View 5.2

Provisions for use as a benchmark (in addition to its previous use as a general configurable tool)

An auto-generated PDF report providing a summary of the run

Microsoft Office 2010 now in supported status

Inclusion of higher resolution HD video

Support for higher-resolution displays
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Introduction

Numerous other fixes and enhancements including increased workload robustness at scale
NOTE Scores obtained using View Planner 3.0 are in no way comparable with scores obtained using any prior
version of View Planner.
View Planner 2.1
View Planner 2.1 included the following major changes:

Support for View 5.0

Support for View server running in Windows Server 2008

Support for PCoIP Secure Gateway (PSG)

New application versions in workload

Agents are now Windows services

Use of the Windows registry for better run monitoring

Use of Python version 2.6 throughout

Measurement of end-to-end round-trip latency to better characterize end-user response times

Support for multiple screen resolutions to better reflect real-world usage

Better power-on and connection throttling, thus reducing setup time

Use of virtual machines for multiple runs without resets

Microsoft Office 2010 in technology preview status

ThinApp in technology preview status
View Planner 2.0
View Planner is the follow-on to a previous-generation VDI measurement tool from VMware, called Reference
Architecture Workload Simulator (RAWC), which was considered the 1.0 version. Thus, as the
next-generation VDI workload generation tool, the first public release of View Planner was designated View
Planner 2.0.
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View Planner Operation
View Planner runs can be performed in any of the following three modes:
NOTE When used as a benchmark, View Planner runs must use remote mode.

Remote mode
In this mode there is a remote client virtual machine for each desktop virtual machine. The client controls
the applications running in the desktop virtual machine and views the desktop. This mode requires the
most hardware, but is also the most representative of real-world VDI deployments.

Passive mode
In this mode the number of client virtual machines can be less than the number of desktop virtual
machines. The desktop controls the applications running in the desktop virtual machine; the client is a
passive viewer. This intermediate mode can use less hardware than the remote mode, but can be more
representative of real-world VDI deployments than the local mode.

Local mode
This mode uses no client virtual machines. The runs are initiated and run entirely on the desktop virtual
machines. Because this mode doesn’t generate the network traffic of a real-world VDI deployment it is
less representative of such deployments than the other two View Planner modes. However, it uses less
hardware than either of the other modes to run the same number of desktop virtual machines.
When a run is started, a controller running in the virtual appliance powers on the desired number of desktop
virtual machines, powers on the appropriate number of client virtual machines (for remote-mode or
passive-mode runs), manages the workload execution, and gathers results.
A reporting tool running in the controller appliance provides access to results of completed runs.
User Interface
Most interaction with View Planner is through a web interface provided by the controller appliance. It is
through this interface that:
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the testbed configuration is defined and configured

the desktop and client virtual machines are provisioned

the runs are started and monitored

the results are viewed, including resource usage and a PDF report
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Introduction
View Planner High-Level Architecture (Remote Mode)
When a remote-mode run is started, the harness powers on the configured number of desktop virtual
machines and the same number of client virtual machines. Once these virtual machines have completed
booting, they report their readiness to the harness. The harness then arranges for each client virtual machine
to control and monitor a desktop virtual machine. Once the configured number of client-desktop virtual
machine pairs are established, the run is begun.
During the run, each client virtual machine acts like a user, taking its designated desktop virtual machine
through a series of predefined operations while measuring that desktop virtual machine’s performance. The
communication between the various modules is shown in Figure 2.
When the run is completed, the desktop and client virtual machines both report their results to the harness,
where they are stored in a database for optional post-processing.
Figure 2. VMware View Planner Operation (Remote Mode)
Controller Appliance
AD
Server
View Planner
harness
VP AD
agent service
Web Browser
MySQL
database
View
Server
(optional)
VP View Server
agent service
vCenter
Server
VP desktop
agent service
VP client
agent service
VMware
plugin
Client VMs
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View Planner
workload
Apps
Remote Protocol
(RDP, View RDP, or PCoIP)
Desktop VMs
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View Planner High-Level Architecture (Passive Mode)
When a passive-mode run is started, the harness powers on the configured number of desktop virtual
machines and the same number or fewer client virtual machines (the exact number will depend on how the run
was configured). Once these virtual machines have completed booting, they report their readiness to the
harness. The harness then assigns each client virtual machine to monitor one or more desktop virtual machine.
Once the configured number of desktop virtual machines have been associated with client virtual machines,
the run is begun.
During the run, each client virtual machine acts like a passive user by launching a remote display session to
each of the desktop virtual machines it is configured to monitor. The workload is controlled on the desktop
virtual machine itself. The communication between the various modules is shown in Figure 3.
When the run is completed, the desktop virtual machines report their results to the harness, where they are
stored in a database for optional post-processing.
Figure 3. VMware View Planner Operation (Passive Mode)
View Planner
harness
AD
Server
VP AD
agent service
Web Browser
MySQL
database
View
Server
(optional)
VP View Server
agent service
vCenter
Server
VP desktop
View Planner
service
workload
VPagent
desktop
View Planner
agent
service
workload
VP desktop
View Planner
agent service
workload
VP client
agent service
Apps
Apps
Apps
protocol
protocol
client
protocol
client
client
Client VMs
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Remote Protocol
(RDP, View RDP, or PCoIP)
Desktop VMs
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Introduction
View Planner High-Level Architecture (Local Mode)
In contrast to remote mode and passive mode, local mode uses no client virtual machines. The runs are instead
initiated and run entirely on the desktop virtual machine. When a local-mode run is started, the harness
powers on the configured number of desktop virtual machines. Once these virtual machines have completed
booting, they report their readiness to the harness, which then starts the run.
During the run, the AutoIt-based View Planner workload in the desktop virtual machine acts like a user,
taking the virtual machine through a series of predefined operations while measuring its performance. The
communication between the various modules is shown in Figure 4.
When the run is completed, the desktop virtual machines report their results to the harness, where they are
stored in a database for optional post-processing.
Figure 4. VMware View Planner Operation (Local Mode)
AD
Server
(optional)
View Planner
harness
Web Browser
VP AD
agent service
MySQL
database
View
Server
(optional)
VP View Server
agent service
vCenter
Server
VP desktop
agent service
View Planner
workload
Apps
Desktop VMs
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View Planner Results and Scoring Methodology
When a View Planner run completes, the View Planner controller appliance outputs a run report containing a
summary of the run results. If the View Planner run was configured according to specific requirements, the
run report will also include a provisional View Planner benchmark score.
Details about run reports can be found in “View Planner Reporting” on page 69.
View Planner Workload Applications and User Operations
The standardized View Planner workload mix consists of nine applications running in the desktop virtual
machines and performing a combined total of 44 user operations. These user operations are separated into the
three groups shown in Table 1: interactive operations (Group A), I/O operations (Group B), and background
load operations (Group C). The operations in Groups A and B are used to determine Quality of Service, while
the operations in Group C are used to generate additional load.
When View Planner is run as a benchmark, the standardized workload mix must be used.
When View Planner is run in flexible mode (that is, not as a benchmark), user operations can be removed from
the standardized mix and custom user operations and even custom applications can be added.
Whether used as a benchmark or in flexible mode, an iteration is the completion of all the user operations in
the currently selected set.
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Introduction
Table 1. View Planner 3.5 User Operations (Local Mode)
Group A (Interactive Operations)
Group B (I/O Operations)
Group C (Background Load)
AdobeReader: Browse
AdobeReader: Open
7-Zip: Compress
AdobeReader: Close
Excel_Sort: Open
Outlook: Restore
AdobeReader: Maximize
Excel_Sort: Save
PowerPoint: SaveAs
AdobeReader: Minimize
Firefox: Open
Video: Play
Excel_Sort: Close
IE_ApacheDoc: Open
Excel_Sort: Compute
IE_WebAlbum: Open
Excel_Sort: Entry
Outlook: Attachment-Save
Excel_Sort: Maximize
Outlook: Open
Excel_Sort: Minimize
PowerPoint: Open
Firefox: Close
Video: Open
IE_ApacheDoc: Browse
Word: Open
IE_ApacheDoc: Close
Word: Save
IE_WebAlbum: Browse
IE_WebAlbum: Close
Outlook: Close
Outlook: Read
PowerPoint: AppendSlides
PowerPoint: Close
PowerPoint: Maximize
PowerPoint: Minimize
PowerPoint: ModifySlides
PowerPoint: RunSlideShow
Video: Close
Word: Close
Word: Maximize
Word: Minimize
Word: Modify
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View Planner Run Phases
During a View Planner run each desktop virtual machine performs a user-specified number of separate
iterations (though benchmark runs must have five iterations).
These iterations are divided into three phases:

Ramp-Up (first iteration)

Steady-State (the total number of iterations minus two)

Ramp-Down (last iteration)
During each iteration, View Planner reports the latencies for each operation performed within each virtual
machine.
NOTE Within a virtual machine each iteration happens sequentially. However nothing prevents a desktop
virtual machine from starting an iteration while one or more other desktop virtual machines are still executing
a previous iteration.
View Planner Quality of Service
Quality of Service (QoS), determined separately for Group A user operations and Group B user operations, is
the 95th percentile latency of all the operations in a group. The default thresholds are 1.0 seconds for Group A
and 6.0 seconds for Group B.
View Planner Benchmark Scores
When View Planner is used as a benchmark, the configuration of the workload virtual machines, the workload
mix, and the versions of the View Planner controller appliance, operating systems, tools, and all other software
used must conform to the specifications in the View Planner documentation (both this VMware View Planner
Installation and User Guide and the View Planner Run and Reporting Rules).
To be used to generate a VDImark™ benchmark score, the 95th percentile of the Group A QoS results and the
95th percentile of the Group B QoS results during the three iterations in the steady-state phase of a View
Planner run must each be at or below the default thresholds.
The View Planner VDImark benchmark score is the number of concurrent users (that is, the number of View
Planner desktop virtual machines) participating in a compliant run. The View Planner benchmark score may
be used only as detailed in the View Planner Run and Reporting Rules.
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Introduction
View Planner Flexible Mode Requirements
This section details the hardware and software requirements for use of VMware View Planner in flexible mode
(that is, as a general configurable tool, as opposed to a benchmark).
WARNING View Planner can be used either as a general configurable tool (“flexible mode”) or as the
specifically defined View Planner benchmark, as described in “View Planner Results and Scoring
Methodology” on page 24. If you plan to run View Planner as a benchmark, skip this section and instead
proceed to “View Planner Benchmark Requirements” on page 32.
View Planner Flexible Mode Hardware and Infrastructure Requirements
At a minimum, running View Planner in flexible mode (as opposed to benchmark mode) requires the
hardware and infrastructure described in the following subsections.
View Planner Flexible Mode Server Hardware Requirements
following server systems:

One or more physical servers capable of running VMware ESX/ESXi.
A single ESX/ESXi server can be used for the View Planner controller appliance, the desktop virtual
machines, and the client virtual machines. However, this configuration is not recommended except for
trial configurations (to get acquainted with installation, configuration, and testing of View Planner).
We strongly recommend having separate ESX/ESXi servers for each of the above three categories. This
increases the accuracy of measurements and ensures that the controller appliance has enough resources
to support hundreds of virtual machines. (Note that local-mode runs don’t use client virtual machines,
and thus don’t need an ESX/ESXi server for that purpose.)
NOTE When using VMFS storage systems there is a limit to the number of ESX/ESXi hosts that can
simultaneously run linked clones sharing the same underlying base disk. For further details, see
Configuration Maximums for VMware vSphere (for ESX/ESXi 4.1 or ESXi 5.0 systems), vSphere Installation and
Setup (for ESXi 5.1 systems), or vSphere Storage (for ESXi 5.5 systems). This limit does not apply to NFS
storage, however.
Sizing of ESX/ESXi Server for View Planner Controller Appliance:
For optimal scaling and performance, we recommend that the host running the controller appliance have
available at least 2 vCPUs and 4GB of physical RAM.
Sizing of ESX/ESXi Servers for View Planner Client Virtual Machines:
Though a variety of factors influence the server hardware required for View Planner clients, as a rough
guide we’ve found in internal tests that a system with 2.53GHz Intel Xeon E5540 processors has
successfully run eight client virtual machines per physical core. See “Create the Desktop Template Virtual
Machines” on page 75 for detailed specifications of these client virtual machines.
Whether performing remote-mode or passive-mode runs, we recommend that RAM not be
overcommitted on the hosts running the client virtual machines.
NOTE The View Planner clients, if they are used, must be virtual machines. View Planner is not designed
for use with physical clients.

A system on which to run VMware vCenter Server.
The vCenter Server can be run in a virtual machine. It is common for this virtual machine to be placed on
the same ESX/ESXi host as the View Planner controller appliance.
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A system on which to run VMware View.
NOTE View Planner requires access to an account with administrator privileges on the View Server
system.
View can be run in a virtual machine. It is common for this virtual machine to be placed on the same
ESX/ESXi host as the View Planner controller appliance.
NOTE View Planner can be used in flexible mode (but not benchmark mode!) without View Server, but
functionality will be limited.

A system on which to run a dedicated Active Directory server.
The Active Directory server can be run in a virtual machine. It is common for this virtual machine to be
placed on the same ESX/ESXi host as the View Planner controller appliance.
NOTE An Active Directory server is required for remote mode and passive mode runs, but is optional for
local-mode runs.

A workstation (or a virtual machine) capable of running a web browser from which View Planner runs
can be started, and on which results can be viewed.
View Planner Flexible Mode Storage Infrastructure Requirements
following storage infrastructure:

Storage infrastructure capable of supporting the number of virtual machines in the run.
For each linked clone desktop virtual machine in the run, View Planner requires approximately 2GB of
storage space (for Windows XP desktop virtual machines) or 4GB of storage space (for Windows 7 virtual
machines).
For each full clone desktop virtual machine in the run, View Planner requires storage space equivalent to
the size of the golden template virtual machine from which those virtual machines are cloned.
Each Windows XP desktop virtual machine uses a peak of about 100 IOPS of storage bandwidth while
booting, and an average of about 10 IOPS while performing the runs. Each Windows 7 desktop virtual
machine uses a peak of about 150 IOPS of storage bandwidth while booting, and an average of about 10
IOPS while performing the runs.
View Planner Flexible Mode Network Infrastructure Requirements
following network infrastructure:

Networking infrastructure suitable for the traffic generated by the virtual machines in the run.
Remote-mode runs need at least a 1Gbps link between the ESX/ESXi hosts running the desktop virtual
machines and those running the client virtual machines.
Runs using NFS storage should be provisioned appropriately for the network traffic this will generate.
NOTE Because the virtual machines used in the View Planner runs do not contain firewalls or virus
scanning software, the machines should be placed on an isolated network.
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A private, dedicated domain for all the View Planner systems.

Static IP addresses for at least the following systems:

The vCenter Server

The View Server (if one is used)
VMware, Inc.
Introduction

The Active Directory server (if one is used)

The View Planner controller appliance

The PCoIP security gateway (PSG), if one is used
View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements
The following software must be installed and configured before View Planner can be run in flexible mode (as
opposed to benchmark mode). All software must be GA versions unless otherwise specified.
VMware vCenter Server
vCenter:

Any vCenter version your View Server and View Composer versions support.
(See the View installation guide for details.)
NOTE View Planner works both with vCenter Server installed in a Microsoft Windows system and with
the VMware vCenter Server Appliance. In the case of vCenter Server Appliance, a host operating system
is not required.
vCenter Server host operating system:

Any operating system version your vCenter and View Composer versions support.
VMware ESX

Any ESX/ESXi version your View version works with.
VMware View
VMware View:

View version 5.2, 5.3, 6.0, or 6.0.1.
NOTE View Planner can be used in flexible mode (but not benchmark mode!) without View, but
functionality will be limited.
View host operating system:

Windows Server 2008 64-bit or Server 2012 (any edition and any service pack supported by your version
of View)
NOTE Although some versions of View support other host operating systems, other editions, and 32-bit
versions, View Planner 3.5 does not.
VMware View Composer

Whichever View Composer version is required by your View version.
NOTE View Planner can be used without View Composer, but functionality will be limited.
Active Directory Server

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Server 2008, or Server 2012, any edition, any service pack, any release,
64-bit.
NOTE An Active Directory server is required for remote-mode and passive-mode runs, but is optional
for local-mode runs.
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DHCP Server

A DHCP server configured to provide enough IP addresses for the largest View Planner runs you will be
performing.
NOTE Because both client virtual machines and desktop virtual machines need IP addresses, a View
Planner run can potentially require thousands of IP addresses.
Desktop Virtual Machine Operating Systems
For flexible mode (as opposed to benchmark mode) the desktop virtual machines can be running any of the
following operating systems (though any single View Planner run can use no more than one of these operating
systems):

Windows XP Pro, 32-bit, with SP3, U.S. English

Windows 7 Enterprise, 32-bit, with SP1, U.S. English

Windows 7 Enterprise, 64-bit, with SP1, U.S. English

Windows 8.1 Enterprise, 32-bit, U.S. English

Windows 8.1 Enterprise, 64-bit, U.S. English

Windows Server 2008, U.S. English

Windows Server 2012, U.S. English
NOTE For Windows XP, 7, or 8.1, other editions (for example, XP Home; Win7 Starter, Home-Basic,
Home-Premium, Pro, Ultimate), other service packs, and other languages might work, but have not been
tested.
For Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2012, refer to the View documentation for supported editions,
releases, and service packs.
NOTE In addition to being one of the versions listed above, the Windows distribution must support Multiple
Activation Key (MAK) or Key Management Service (KMS) key activation (that is, it should be volume license
based) so that functional clones of the template virtual machine can be made.
Client Virtual Machine Operating System Version
The client virtual machines must use a U.S. English version of Windows XP Pro, 32-bit, with SP3, Windows 7
Enterprise 32-bit, or Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit.
NOTE Other editions, service packs, and languages might work, but have not been tested.
Applications and Appliances
In addition to the above, View Planner also requires the following applications and appliance:

A preconfigured SLES (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server) View Planner controller appliance (downloadable
from VMware).
This appliance includes the SLES operating system, a pre-configured MySQL database, a custom View
Planner harness, and Apache web server. It also contains installation packages for many of the other
systems that are used in View Planner runs (the desktop virtual machines, the client virtual machines, the
View Server system, and the Active Directory Server system).
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VMware, Inc.
Introduction

A copy of Microsoft Office for each desktop virtual machine. This must be either Enterprise 2007, 32-bit
(with no service packs) or Professional Plus 2010, 32-bit (with no service packs) and must use a licensing
scheme, such as a volume license or KVM, that allows it to run on multiple clone virtual machines without
activation issues. 64-bit versions of Office are not supported.

Microsoft Internet Explorer version 8.x, 9.x, 10.x, or 11.x on each desktop virtual machine.
This can be downloaded and installed using Windows Update.

Mozilla Firefox version 3.6.x, version 4.0.x, version 5.0.x, version 6.0.x, or version 7.0.x on each desktop
virtual machine.
The instructions in “Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 90 include a
pointer to non-current Firefox versions.

Adobe Reader version 9.x or version 10.x (also called Adobe Reader X) on each desktop virtual machine.
pointer to non-current Adobe Reader versions.

7-Zip file archiver (automatically installed on each desktop virtual machine by the View Planner
controller appliance during setup, no separate user action required).

Google Chrome browser installed on each client virtual machine (only required if using Blast).
Technology Previews
View Planner 3.5 includes support for VMware ThinApp in technology preview. VMware ThinApp allows
certain applications to be run using agentless application virtualization. These applications include Microsoft
Office, Firefox, and Adobe Reader. For information about using ThinApp with View Planner, see ThinApp
Configuration Guide for VMware View Planner.
Two new applications, Audio-Video Benchmark (AVBench) and Mouse Drag and Scroll Benchmark
(UEBench) are available in flexible mode in technology preview. For further information, see “Audio-Video
Benchmark (AVBench)” on page 117 and “Mouse Drag and Scroll Benchmark (UEBench)” on page 118.
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View Planner Benchmark Requirements
This section details the hardware and software requirements for use of VMware View Planner as a benchmark
(as described in “View Planner Results and Scoring Methodology” on page 24) as opposed to a general
configurable tool. In order to ensure comparability of benchmark results, these requirements are more
restrictive than those for use as a general configurable tool (which are detailed in “View Planner Flexible Mode
Requirements” on page 27).
View Planner Benchmark Hardware and Infrastructure Requirements
At a minimum, running View Planner as a benchmark (as opposed to a general configurable tool) requires the
hardware and infrastructure described in the following subsections.
View Planner Benchmark Server Hardware Requirements
following server systems:

At least three physical servers capable of running VMware ESX/ESXi. These servers are used as follows:

One server on which to run the View Planner controller appliance.

One or more servers on which to run the desktop virtual machines.

One or more servers on which to run the client virtual machines.
NOTE When using VMFS storage systems there is a limit to the number of ESX/ESXi hosts that can
simultaneously run linked clones sharing the same underlying base disk. For further details, see
Configuration Maximums for VMware vSphere (for ESX/ESXi 4.1 or ESXi 5.0 systems), vSphere Installation and
Setup (for ESXi 5.1 systems), or vSphere Storage (for ESXi 5.5 systems). This limit does not apply to NFS
storage, however.
NOTE In addition to being on separate servers, the desktop and client virtual machines should also be in
separate clusters/resource pools. This is in order to prevent DRS from moving these virtual machines
between their respective hosts.
Sizing of ESX/ESXi Server for View Planner Controller Appliance:
For optimal scaling and performance, we recommend that the host running the controller appliance have
available at least 2 vCPUs and 4GB of physical RAM
Sizing of ESX/ESXi Server for View Planner Client Virtual Machines:
Though a variety of factors influence the server hardware required for View Planner clients, as a rough
guide we’ve found in internal tests that a system with 2.53GHz Intel Xeon E5540 processors has
successfully run eight client virtual machines per physical core. See “Create the Desktop Template Virtual
Machines” on page 75 for detailed specifications of these client virtual machines.
We recommend that RAM not be overcommitted on the hosts running the client virtual machines.
NOTE The View Planner clients must be virtual machines. View Planner is not designed for use with
physical clients.

A system on which to run VMware vCenter Server.
The vCenter Server can be run in a virtual machine. It is common for this virtual machine to be placed on
the same ESXi host as the View Planner controller appliance.

A system on which to run VMware View.
NOTE View Planner requires access to an account with administrator privileges on the View system.
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Introduction
View can be run in a virtual machine. It is common for this virtual machine to be placed on the same ESXi
host as the View Planner controller appliance.

A system on which to run a dedicated Active Directory server.
The Active Directory server can be run in a virtual machine. It is common for this virtual machine to be
placed on the same ESXi host as the View Planner controller appliance.

A workstation (or a virtual machine) capable of running a web browser from which View Planner runs
can be started, and on which results can be viewed.
View Planner Benchmark Storage Infrastructure Requirements
following storage infrastructure:

Storage infrastructure capable of supporting the number of virtual machines in the run.
For each desktop virtual machine in the run, the View Planner benchmark requires approximately 2GB of
storage space. Each Windows 7 desktop virtual machine uses a peak of about 150 IOPS of storage
bandwidth while booting, and an average of about 10 IOPS while performing the runs.
View Planner Benchmark Network Infrastructure Requirements
following network infrastructure:

Networking infrastructure suitable for the traffic generated by the virtual machines in the run.
View Planner benchmark runs need at least a 1Gbps link between the ESXi hosts running the desktop
virtual machines and those running the client virtual machines.
Runs using NFS storage should be provisioned appropriately for the network traffic this will generate.
NOTE Because the virtual machines used in the View Planner runs do not contain firewalls or virus
scanning software, the machines should be placed on an isolated network.

A private, dedicated domain for all the View Planner systems.

Static IP addresses for at least the following systems:

The vCenter Server

The View Server

The Active Directory server

The View Planner Controller appliance
View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements
The following software must be installed and configured before View Planner can be run as a benchmark (as
opposed to a general configurable tool). All software must be GA versions unless otherwise specified.
VMware vCenter Server
vCenter:

vCenter version 5.1 or 5.5
NOTE View Planner works both with vCenter Server installed in a Microsoft Windows system and with the
VMware vCenter Server Appliance. In the case of vCenter Server Appliance, a host operating system is not
required.
vCenter Server host operating system:
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Any operating system version your vCenter and View Composer versions support.
VMware ESX

ESXi version 5.1 or 5.5
VMware View
VMware View:

View version 5.2, 5.3, 6.0, or 6.0.1.
View Server host operating system:

Windows Server 2008 64-bit or Server 2012 (any edition and any service pack supported by your version
of View Server)
NOTE Although some versions of View Server support other host operating systems, other editions, and
32-bit versions, View Planner 3.5 does not.
VMware View Composer

Whichever View Composer version is required by your View Server version.
Active Directory Server

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Server 2008, or Server 2012, any edition, any service pack, any release,
64-bit.
DHCP Server

A DHCP server configured to provide enough IP addresses for the largest View Planner runs you will be
performing.
NOTE Because both client virtual machines and desktop virtual machines need IP addresses, a View
Planner run can potentially require thousands of IP addresses.
Desktop Virtual Machine Operating Systems
The desktop virtual machines must be running a U.S. English version of Windows 7 Enterprise, 32-bit, with
SP1.
NOTE In addition to being the version listed above, the Windows distribution must support Multiple
Client Virtual Machine Operating System Version
The client virtual machines must use a U.S. English version of Windows XP Pro, 32-bit, with SP3, Windows 7
Enterprise 32-bit, or Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit.
Applications and Appliances
In addition to the above, View Planner also requires the following applications and appliance:

34
A preconfigured SLES View Planner controller appliance (downloadable from VMware).
VMware, Inc.
Introduction
This appliance includes the SLES operating system, a pre-configured MySQL database, a custom View
Planner harness, and Apache web server. It also contains installation packages for many of the other
systems that are used in View Planner runs (the desktop virtual machines, the client virtual machines, the
View Server system, and the Active Directory Server system).

A copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, 32-bit (with no service packs) for each desktop virtual
machine. This must use a licensing scheme that allows it to run on multiple cloned virtual machines
without activation issues. 64-bit versions of Office are not supported.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.x on each desktop virtual machine.
This can be downloaded and installed using Windows Update.

Mozilla Firefox version 7.0.x on each desktop virtual machine.
pointer to non-current Firefox versions.

Adobe Reader version 10.x (also called Adobe Reader X) on each desktop virtual machine.
pointer to non-current Adobe Reader versions.

7-Zip file archiver (automatically installed on each desktop virtual machine by the View Planner
controller appliance during setup, no separate user action required).
View Planner Benchmark Run Requirements
In order for a View Planner benchmark run to be compliant, it must meet the following requirements:

It must comply with all requirements listed in the View Planner Run and Reporting Rules.

It must use linked clones (rather than full clones).

All applications must be selected.

The Multimedia Application speed must be set to Fast.

The benchmark workload profile (StandardBenchmarkProfile_5i) must be selected.

It must use the PCoIP display protocol.

The screen resolution must be set to 1920x1200.

It must contain exactly five iterations (including Ramp-Up and Ramp-Down).

The ramp-up time must be no greater than 60 seconds plus 2 seconds per virtual machine in the test and
must be no greater than 600 seconds.

It must use remote mode.

The 95th percentile of the Group A response times during steady-state must be 1.0 seconds or less.

The 95th percentile of the Group B response times during steady-state must be 6.0 seconds or less.

The compliance log should contain no violations.
Additional details regarding what constitutes a compliant benchmark run can be found in the View Planner
Run and Reporting Rules.
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View Planner Setup and Provisioning
1
This chapter describes the preparation steps that must be performed before running VMware View Planner.
It is divided into the following sections:

“Prepare the Prerequisites for View Planner” on page 37

“Obtain, Deploy, and Configure the View Planner Controller Appliance” on page 39

“Perform a Single-VM Local Mode Test” on page 42

“Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test” on page 44

“Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test” on page 48

“Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test” on page 56
Review the View Planner Usage and Disclosure Restrictions
View Planner can be used, and results can be disclosed, only when certain rules are followed.
Before using View Planner, review the End-User License Agreement (EULA) and the Run and Reporting Rules
(RRR), both of which are included in the View Planner documentation package. If you do not have these files,
contact VMware for copies.
Prepare the Prerequisites for View Planner
This section lists the prerequisites for a View Planner setup, and describes how to prepare them.
View Planner requires the following:

An Active Directory server. (Not required for local-mode runs.)

One or more servers running VMware ESX/ESXi.

VMware vSphere vCenter.

VMware View. (Required only if you will be using View for your runs. Note that View is required for
benchmark runs.)

VMware View Composer. (Required for benchmark runs.)

A static IP address and valid fully-qualified domain name for the View Planner appliance.
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A system to use as a common time source.
NOTE Make sure the following systems use this common time source:

The ESX system on which the View Planner controller appliance will run.

The ESX systems on which the client and desktop virtual machines will run.

The vCenter host operating system.

The View host operating system.

The Active Directory server host operating system.
NOTE Use of View Planner on systems that exceed the configuration limits for VMware View, VMware
vSphere, or any other component of the testbed is not supported.
The following sections provide additional detail for some of these requirements.
Deploy an Active Directory Server
Unless you will be performing only local mode runs, you will need an active directory server. This can be a
server deployed specifically for the View Planner testbed or one already deployed in your environment.
Once the AD server is ready, configure a domain to use for View Planner.
Deploy VMware ESX/ESXi on Hosts
Select a version of ESX/ESXi (see “View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on page 29 or “View
Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33 for version requirements) and deploy it on as many
hosts as you will need for your View Planner tests.
Add each ESX/ESXi host to the View Planner domain.
Deploy a VMware Virtual Center Server Virtual Machine
Deploy a VMware Virtual Center server virtual machine (see “View Planner Flexible Mode Software
Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33 for version
requirements).
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Chapter 1 View Planner Setup and Provisioning
Obtain, Deploy, and Configure the View Planner Controller Appliance
This section describes obtaining, deploying, and configuring the View Planner controller appliance.
Obtain the View Planner Controller Appliance
The View Planner controller appliance can be obtained as an .ova file from VMware. Once you have the .ova
file, follow the instructions below to deploy and configure the View Planner controller appliance.
NOTE View Planner 3.5 has no provision for upgrading from a View Planner 2.1 installation.
To upgrade a View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1 installation to View Planner 3.5, see “Upgrading from View
Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1 to View Planner 3.5” on page 119.
Deploy the View Planner Controller Appliance
Follow the steps in this section to deploy the View Planner controller appliance.:
NOTE These instructions are based on vSphere 5.1. Steps for other versions of vSphere might be slightly
different.
1
Place the .ova file on a Windows system on which you have the vSphere Client software installed.
2
Within the vSphere Client, connect to the vSphere Server managing the ESX host on which you will run
the View Planner controller appliance.
3
Click File > Deploy OVF Template...
4
In the Deploy OVF Template window, click the Browse... button, browse to the View Planner .ova file,
and click Open.
5
Again at the Deploy OVF Template window, click Next.
6
At the OVF Template Details window click Next.
7
At the End User License Agreement window, read the View Planner end user license agreement, click
Accept, then click Next.
8
At the Name and Location window, enter a name for this View Planner controller appliance, select the
datacenter on which you want this controller appliance to run, then click Next.
9
At the Host / Cluster window, select the ESX host or cluster on which you want this controller appliance
to run, then click Next.
What you see next depends on your environment and on what you select in the Host / Cluster window.
Continue through any subsequent windows (these might include Specific Host, Resource Pool, etc.),
making selections appropriate for your environment, until you reach the Storage window.
10
At the Storage window, select the datastore where you want the View Planner controller appliance files
to be stored, then click Next.
11
At the Disk Format window leave the default Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed radio button selected, then
click Next.
12
At the Properties window, leave the four fields (Default Gateway, DNS, Network 1 IP Address, and
Network 1 Netmask) blank, then click Next.
13
At the Ready to Complete window click Finish.
Configure Your View Planner Controller Appliance
Follow these steps to perform the initial configuration of the View Planner controller appliance:
1
Power-on the View Planner controller appliance.
2
Use the vSphere Client to access the console of the View Planner controller appliance.
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3
Use the space bar to advance through the View Planner End User License Agreement (EULA), then enter
yes to accept.
4
Log in to the controller appliance using the default credentials:
Login: root
Password: vmware
NOTE These default credentials can be changed if desired with no impact on View Planner runs.
5
Change to the /root/ViewPlanner directory.
6
Set the path for Python by running the command:
source setup.sh
7
Configure the virtual machine’s static IP address and the corresponding settings by running the
command:
python ./harness_setup.pyc -i <ipaddr> -m <netmask> -g <gateway> -d <full-domainname>
-n <dnsip1> [,<dnsip2>, ...]
Replacing <ipaddr>, <netmask>, <gateway>, <full-domainname>, <dnsip1>, and (optionally)
additional DNS addresses with appropriate values, including the static IP address and the fully-qualified
domain name (a name that uniquely identifies that virtual machine, for example,
VPappliance.eng.vmware.com).
8
Confirm correct function of the View Planner controller appliance web interface:
9
a
Point a web browser to the static IP address you just assigned to the controller appliance.
b
When the controller appliance web page appears, log in using the default credentials:
Login: root
Password: vmware
Leave the controller appliance powered on so that the AD server, View, the desktop virtual machine, and
the client virtual machine can download the View Planner agent software packages.
Customize View Planner for Your vCenter Installation
Follow these steps to customize View Planner for your vCenter installation:
1
Point a web browser to the static IP address you assigned to the controller appliance in “Configure Your
View Planner Controller Appliance” on page 39.
NOTE If you use Internet Explorer (IE) to access the View Planner controller appliance web interface, you
should set IE document mode to IE 8 Standards. You can do this using the Tools > Developer Options
(F12), then select Document Mode and choose Internet Explorer 8 Standards (<Alt><8>) or higher.
2
Login: root
Password: vmware
3
On the controller appliance web page, click the Config tab.
4
In the vCenter Information pane, within the IP Address/Name: field, enter the IP address or the host
name of the vCenter server you will be using with View Planner.
5
In the VC User Name: field, enter the vCenter user name.
NOTE Make sure this user has the permissions required in order to perform the View Planner operations
(power on and off, clone, and so on) in the datacenter you will specify in Step 7, below.
6
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In the VC Password: field, enter the vCenter password.
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7
In the Datacenter: field, enter the name of the vCenter datacenter to be used for these runs.
NOTE If you will be using more than one datacenter, see “Configure View Planner to Use VMs From All
Datacenters” on page 114.
8
Click Save at the bottom of the vCenter Information pane.
9
Click the Close button on the vCenter Configuration was Saved! pop-up window.
10
Click Test at the bottom of the vCenter Information pane.
You should see a window saying vCenter Configuration looks good. Successfully tested the VC
connection.
If you get an error message, check the status of your vCenter server and make sure that the information
you provided in the vCenter Information pane was correct.
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Perform a Single-VM Local Mode Test
In this section you will perform the steps necessary for a single-VM local mode View Planner test.
Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine
Create the desktop template virtual machine, install Microsoft Windows, and prepare the virtual machine to
be used in View Planner tests, and as described in Appendix A, “Create and Prepare the Desktop Template
Virtual Machine,” on page 75.
Create a Single-VM Local Mode Run Profile
Follow the directions in this section to create a single-VM local mode run profile.
1
2
Login: root
Password: vmware
3
On the controller appliance web page, make sure you’re on the Run & Reports tab.
4
Under Run Profiles, click New. This will bring you to the New Run Profile window.
5
In the New Run Profile window:
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Single-VM-local.
b
In the Number of VMs / Connections: field, enter 1.
c
In the Ramp up time: field, enter 5. This is the maximum delay, in seconds, between clicking the Run
Test button and the start of the run on individual desktop virtual machines.
(When the Run Test button is clicked, each desktop virtual machine will begin the run after a
randomly-selected delay of between zero seconds and the number of seconds entered in this field.)
d
In the Desktop / RDSH Name Prefix: field, enter the name of the desktop template virtual machine
you created in “Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 42 (typically
GoldenDesktop).
e
Under Test Mode: choose the Local radio button.
f
In the AD Group Settings field, for Name enter Test, for Workload-Profile select
StandardBenchmarkProfile_1i (this is a test workload profile configured to run only one iteration,
thus the suffix 1i), and for %VMs enter 100, then click the Add Group button.
NOTE This group will be added to your AD setup once the run is executed.
g
Click the Save button.
h
At the Run Profile was saved successfully pop-up window, click close.
i
Click the Check button.
If any errors are reported, correct them, then repeat the check until no further errors are reported.
Run a Single-VM Local Mode Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a single-VM local mode test.
1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created (Single-VM-local) is shown
in the Run Profiles selection window.
2
Under Run Profiles, click Run.
NOTE While the run is in progress, don’t click on or type in the desktop virtual machine.
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3
Watch the following areas:

From the View Planner controller appliance web interface, watch for status messages.

From the vSphere Client console window, monitor the desktop virtual machine.

Periodically monitor the viewplanner.log file, as described in “Troubleshooting the View Planner
Controller Appliance” on page 131 and “Monitor the viewplanner.log File During the Run Test
Stage” on page 134. (Note that INFO and DEBUG messages are normal in the viewplanner.log file.)
The purpose of this run is to detect anything that might interrupt a test run and take corrective action,
eventually resulting in a test run with no need for user intervention. The most common test run
interruptions are pop-up windows or other unpredictable behavior.
If any interruptions do occur, manually respond, taking the necessary actions to prevent them from
recurring. Typically this will mean selecting “Don’t remind me again” (or the equivalent), and then
dismissing the notification.
If you need to restart the run, follow the instructions in “Miscellaneous Tips” on page 137.
4
Repeat the testing until you get a complete run with no user intervention required (indicated by a Run
Completed notification on the View Planner controller appliance web page).
5
Under Reports, click Refresh.
6
Within the list of tests, click on the Latencies button to see a graph of Quality-of-Service latencies, the Stats
button to see performance statistics, or the Report button for a full PDF report.
7
If a PDF report was not generated, run the reporting script (as described in “The View Planner Reporting
Script” on page 70) and read the
<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>-report.txt file. If problems are reported in
this file, address them and repeat the run.
8
Shut down the desktop template virtual machine then take a snapshot of it in this known-good state. We
recommend naming this snapshot Tested-Local (which is how we will refer to it later in this book).
9
Now that you have successfully completed a test of the desktop template virtual machine, proceed to
“Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test” on page 44.
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Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test
In this section you will perform the steps necessary for a single-VM remote mode View Planner test using
RDP.
NOTE If you will use only local mode, you can skip this section. If you will perform multi-VM tests, proceed
to “Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test” on page 56.
Configure Your Active Directory Server System
An Active Directory server is required for remote-mode and passive-mode runs.
An Active Directory server is optional for local-mode runs. If you will be performing only local-mode runs,
you can, if you wish, skip this section and proceed to “Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test” on page 56.
Install the View Planner Agent in the Active Directory Server
View Planner includes an agent to run on the Active Directory server. If you are not able to install this agent
on your AD server, View Planner can use a dummy agent, as described in “Configure View Planner to Use a
Dummy Active Directory Agent” on page 113. Otherwise, perform the following steps to install the View
Planner agent in the Active Directory server.
NOTE The instructions in this section should be followed only after “Customize View Planner for Your
vCenter Installation” on page 40 is completed.
NOTE If desired, security settings for the Active Directory host operating system can be changed, as described
in “Change Security Settings for the View Server and AD Host Operating Systems” on page 109.
44
1
Log in to the Active Directory server as administrator of the private dedicated domain you created for
your View Planner installation.
2
From within the Active Directory server, open Internet Explorer (Start Menu > Programs > Internet
Explorer).
3
Enter the static IP address you assigned to the controller appliance in “Configure Your View Planner
Controller Appliance” on page 39.
4
Login: root
Password: vmware
5
On the controller appliance web page, click the Packages tab.
6
Select the AD Server Agent Installation Package.
7
When Internet Explorer asks where to save the file, select the desktop.
8
When the download is complete, close Internet Explorer.
9
Open the zip file you just downloaded and extract the contents to a new folder you create on the desktop.
10
Open the newly-created folder and double-click the ViewPlanner_Agent_For_AD.exe file.
11
After the installation is complete:
a
Open Windows Services to check if VMware View Planner Agent service has started. If the service
has not started, check for errors in Windows Event viewer.
b
Check C:\viewplanner-agent-installer.log for any errors or warnings.
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Create the Client Template Virtual Machine
Create the client template virtual machine, as described in Appendix B, “Create and Prepare the Client
Template Virtual Machine,” on page 95.
NOTE In addition to being on separate servers, the desktop and client virtual machines should also be in
separate clusters/resource pools. This is in order to prevent DRS from moving these virtual machines between
their respective hosts.
Customize View Planner for Your AD Installation
Follow these steps to customize View Planner for your Active Directory installations:
CAUTION Even if you won’t be using Active Directory, you must still configure these Active Directory settings.
1
If you’re still logged in to your View Planner controller appliance, proceed to Step 2; otherwise, follow
these steps:
a
Point a web browser to the static IP address you assigned to the controller appliance in “Configure
Your View Planner Controller Appliance” on page 39.
b
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
3
In the AD Information pane, within the AD IP Address/Name: field, enter the IP address or the host
name of the Active Directory server you will be using for this View Planner setup.
NOTE If you will not be using an AD server (i.e., because you will be performing only local-mode runs,
thus making AD optional), you must still enter a value for this field. In this case enter 127.0.0.1 as a
dummy value.
4
In the AD Domain Name: field, enter the fully qualified active directory domain name you will be using
for this View Planner setup.
NOTE If you will not be using an AD server (i.e., because you will be performing only local-mode runs,
thus making AD optional), you must still enter a value for this field. In this case use dummy as a dummy
value.
5
In the View IP Address/Name: field, enter dummy (you’ll enter live data later).
6
In the View User Name: field, enter dummy (you’ll enter live data later).
7
In the View Password: field, enter dummy (you’ll enter live data later).
8
Click Save at the bottom of the AD Information pane.
At this point the controller appliance will prepare packages for use in subsequent steps. This process will
take a few minutes.
9
Click Test AD at the bottom of the AD Information pane.
You should see a window saying Successfully tested the AD server connection.
If you get an error message, check the status of your AD server and make sure that the information you
provided in the AD Information pane was correct.
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Create a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Run Profile
Follow the directions in this section to create a single-VM remote mode RDP run profile.
1
2
Login: root
Password: vmware
3
4
5
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Single-VM-remote-RDP.
b
c
d
GoldenDesktop).
e
Under Test Mode: choose the Remote radio button.
NOTE Even if you will be performing passive-mode runs, we recommend you select Remote (rather
than Passive) for this single-VM test in order to more fully test the client template.
f
Under Desktop Type: choose the VDI Desktops radio button.
g
In the AD Group Settings field, for Name enter Test, for Workload Profile select
StandardBenchmarkProfile_1i, and for %VMs enter 100
h
Under Display Protocol: select RDP from the drop-down menu.
NOTE This should be RDP, not View RDP (at this point we have not yet deployed View, as required
for View RDP).
i
In the Client Name Prefix: field enter the name of the client template virtual machine you created in
“Create the Client Template Virtual Machine” on page 45 (typically GoldenClient).
j
Click the Add Group button.
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k
l
m
Click the Check button.
n
Address any errors reported.
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Run a Single-VM Remote Mode RDP Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a single-VM remote mode test using RDP.
1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created (Single-VM-remote-RDP) is
shown in the Run Profiles: dropdown box.
2
Click Run.
NOTE While the run is in progress, don’t click on or type in the desktop virtual machine.
3

From the vSphere Client console window, monitor the client virtual machine.

recurring. Typically this will mean selecting “Don’t remind me again” (or the equivalent), then dismissing
the notification.
4
completed notification on the View Planner controller appliance web page).
5
Under Reports, click Refresh.
6
Within the list of tests, click on the Latencies button to see a graph of Quality-of-Service latencies, the Stats
button to see performance statistics, or the Report button for a full PDF report.
7
If a PDF report was not generated, run the reporting script (as described in “The View Planner Reporting
Script” on page 70) and read the
8
Shut down both the desktop and client template virtual machines, then take a snapshot of each one in this
known-good state. We recommend naming these snapshots Tested-RemoteRDP.
9
Now that you have successfully completed a remote mode test of the template virtual machines using
RDP, proceed to “Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test” on page 48.
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Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test
In this section you will perform the steps necessary for a single-VM remote mode View Planner test using
View PCoIP.
NOTE If you will use only the RDP display protocol (and not View RDP or View PCoIP), View is optional for
View Planner. Without View, however, View Planner functionality will be limited. Note that View PCoIP is
required for benchmark mode; benchmark mode thus requires View.
If you do not wish to deploy View you can this skip this section and proceed to “Perform a Multi-VM VDI
Test” on page 56.
Deploy VMware View
Deploy VMware View (see “View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on page 29 or “View
Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33 for version requirements).
Configure View
VMware View is required in order to use View RDP or View PCoIP display protocols (and is thus required in
order to use View Planner as a benchmark).
The subsections below describe how to install the View Planner agent in View and change various View
settings.
Customize View Planner for Your View Installations
Follow these steps to customize View Planner for your View installation:
CAUTION Even if you won’t be using View, or won’t be using Active Directory, you must still configure these
View and Active Directory settings.
1
If you’re still logged in to your View Planner controller appliance, proceed to Step 2; otherwise, follow
these steps:
a
Point a web browser to the static IP address you assigned to the controller appliance in “Configure
Your View Planner Controller Appliance” on page 39.
b
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
3
In the AD Information pane, within the AD IP Address/Name: field, leave the IP address or host name
you previously entered.
4
In the AD Domain Name: field, leave the fully qualified active directory domain name you previously
entered.
5
In the View IP Address/Name: field, enter the IP address or the host name of the system running View.
6
In the View User Name: field, enter a View account with administrator privileges.
7
In the View Password: field, enter the password corresponding to the user name you provided above.
8
Click Save at the bottom of the AD Information pane.
At this point the controller appliance will prepare packages for use in subsequent steps. This process will
take a few minutes.
9
Click Test View at the bottom of the AD Information pane.
You should see a window saying Successfully tested the View server connection.
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If you get an error message, check the status of your View system and make sure that the information you
provided in the View Information pane was correct.
Install the View Planner Agent in View
Perform the following steps to install the View Planner agent in View.
NOTE The instructions in this section should be followed only after “Customize View Planner for Your
vCenter Installation” on page 40 is completed.
NOTE If desired, security settings for the View host operating system can be changed, as described in “Change
Security Settings for the View Server and AD Host Operating Systems” on page 109.
1
Log in to the View system using the same account provided in Step 6 on page 48.
2
From within the View system, open Internet Explorer (Start > All Programs > Internet Explorer).
3
Still at Internet Explorer, browse to the static IP address you assigned to the controller appliance in
“Configure Your View Planner Controller Appliance” on page 39.
4
Login: root
Password: vmware
5
On the controller appliance web page, click the Packages tab.
6
Select the View Server Agent Installation Package.
7
8
9
10
Open the newly-created folder and double-click the ViewPlanner_Agent_For_View.exe file.
11
After the installation is complete:
a
Open Windows Services to check if VMWare View Planner Agent service has started. If the service
has not started, check for errors in Windows Event viewer.
b
Check C:\viewplanner-agent-installer.log for any errors or warnings.
Configure View to Use External URLs
Set View to use external URLs as follows:
1
Using a web browser, connect to View using the following URL:
https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/admin
Where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the host on which View is running.
2
Log in to the View web interface as administrator.
3
At the left portion of the window, expand View Configuration.
4
Click Servers.
5
In the right pane, click the Connection Servers tab, select your View system (click once on its name) and
click the Edit... button.
6
In the Edit View Connection Server Settings window, enter your View IP address and port in the
External URL: field using the following format:
https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:443
where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the host on which View is running.
7
Click OK.
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Use View to Create a Manual Pool of Desktop Virtual Machines
Following the View documentation, create a manual pool with floating assignment, then add the golden
desktop virtual machine to this pool. You must use identical values for the pool_id and poolname
parameters.
Create a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Run Profile
Follow the directions in this section to create a single-VM remote mode View PCoIP run profile.
1
Still logged in to the controller appliance, click the Run & Reports tab.
2
3
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Single-VM-remote-PCoIP.
b
c
d
GoldenDesktop).
e
NOTE Even if you will be performing passive-mode runs (as opposed to remote-mode runs), we
recommend you select Remote (rather than Passive) for this single-VM test in order to more fully test
the client template.
f
g
StandardBenchmarkProfile_1i, and for %VMs enter 100.
h
Under Display Protocol: select View PCoIP from the drop-down menu.
i
j
k
l
Run a Single-VM Remote Mode View PCoIP Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a single-VM remote mode test using PCoIP.
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1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created (Single-VM-remote-PCoIP) is
2
Click Run.
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4
5
Run the reporting script (as described in “The View Planner Reporting Script” on page 70) and read the
6
known-good state. We recommend naming these snapshots Tested-RemotePCoIP.
7
Now that you have successfully completed a remote mode test of the template virtual machines using
PCoIP, proceed to “Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test” on page 52.
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Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test
If you will be performing RDSH desktop session runs, follow the instructions in this section to configure and
test your environment. If you will not be performing RDSH desktop session runs, proceed to “Perform a
Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test” on page 54.
NOTE Repetitive RDSH scale runs can fill the C: drive of the RDSH server with user profiles. It is thus good
practice to configure the RDSH server with a relatively large C: drive (60GB or larger), to periodically run the
delprof utility and, if the RDSH server has enough memory, to disable the pagefile.
Create an RDS Server Farm
Follow View documentation to create an RDS server farm.
NOTE When selecting RDS hosts, select the Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2012 virtual machine
you prepared in “Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 75.
Create an RDS Server Pool
Follow View documentation to create an RDS server pool, selecting the RDS server farm you just created.
NOTE The pool ID must be set to the same value as the display name.
Create an RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Run Profile
1
2
3
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Single-RDSH-DesktopSession-PCoIP.
b
c
d
In the Desktop / RDSH Name Prefix: field, enter the name of the windows server virtual machine
GoldenRDSH).
e
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f
Under Desktop Type: choose the RDSH Desktops / Apps radio button.
g
RDSHSessionProfile_1i, and for %VMs enter 100.
h
Under RDSH Type: choose the RDSH Desktop radio button.
i
In the Pool name: field, enter the RDS desktop session pool name.
j
k
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l
m
n
Run a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a single-VM remote mode RDSH desktop session test using
PCoIP.
1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created
(Single-DesktopSession-RDSH-PCoIP) is shown in the Run Profiles: dropdown box.
2
Click Run.
3

4
5
6
known-good state. We recommend naming these snapshots Tested-Remote-RDSHDesktop.
7
Now that you have successfully completed a single-VM remote mode RDSH desktop session test of the
template virtual machines using PCoIP, proceed to “Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH
Application Session PCoIP Test” on page 54.
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Perform a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP
Test
If you will be performing RDSH application session runs, follow the instructions in this section to configure
and test your environment. If you will not be performing RDSH application session runs, proceed to “Perform
a Multi-VM VDI Test” on page 56.
Create an RDS Server Farm
If you have not already done so in “Create an RDS Server Farm” on page 52, follow View documentation to
create an RDS Server Farm.
NOTE When selecting RDS hosts, select the Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2012 virtual machine
you prepared in “Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 75.
Create an Application Pool
Follow View documentation to create an Application pool, selecting the RDS server farm you just created.
NOTE When selecting installed applications, select viewplanner and make sure both the pool ID and the
display name are set to viewplanner.
Create an RDS Application Session PCoIP Run Profile
1
2
3
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Single-RDSH-AppSession-PCoIP.
b
c
d
In the Desktop / RDSH Name Prefix: field, enter the name of the windows server virtual machine
GoldenRDSH).
e
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f
g
RDSHAppsProfile_1i, and for %VMs enter 100.
h
Under RDSH Type: choose the RDSH APPs radio button.
i
In the Pool name: field, enter the application pool name.
j
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k
l
m
n
Run a Single-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a single-VM remote mode RDSH application session test using
PCoIP.
1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created
(Single-AppSession-RDSH-PCoIP) is shown in the Run Profiles: dropdown box.
2
Click Run.
3

4
5
6
known-good state. We recommend naming these snapshots Tested-RemoteRDSHApp.
7
Now that you have successfully completed a single-VM remote mode RDSH application session test of
the template virtual machines using PCoIP, proceed to “Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test” on page 56.
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Perform a Multi-VM VDI Test
In this section you will perform the steps necessary for a multi-VM View Planner test.
Enable View Composer on View
Enable View Composer on View as follows:
NOTE This is only required if you will be using View for provisioning. Because benchmark mode requires the
use of View for provisioning, it also requires View Composer.
1
You should still be logged in to the View web interface as administrator, and still be under View
Configuration > Servers.
2
In the right pane, under vCenter Servers, look for your vCenter Server.
a
If your vCenter Server is not listed, add it by clicking the Add tab, fill in your vCenter Server
information (IP address, user name, and password), then click OK.
b
Select your vCenter Server (click once on its name) and click the Edit... button.
3
In the Edit vCenter Server window, under View Composer Settings, enter a checkmark in the box next
to Enable View Composer.
4
If your active directory domain is not already listed under Domains:, add it as follows:
a
Click the Add... button.
b
Fill in the Full domain name:, User name:, and Password: for the Active Directory server you will be
using.
c
Click OK to accept these values and close the Add domain window.
5
Click OK to close the Edit vCenter Server window.
6
Log out of the View web interface.
Use View to Provision a Pool of Desktop Linked Clones
Follow the View documentation to provision as many clones of the desktop template virtual machine as you
wish to test. These should be created as an automated linked clone pool with floating assignment. You must
also use identical values for the pool_id and poolname parameters.
NOTE If you will be using the Microsoft RDP display protocol (as opposed to the View RDP or View PCoIP
display protocols), you don’t need to use View to provision the desktop virtual machines. In this use case you
can, if desired, instead use vCenter, as described in “Use vCenter to Provision Desktop Virtual Machines” on
page 115.
Use vCenter to Provision Client Linked Clones
Use vCenter to provision the client virtual machines by following the steps below.
NOTE Client provisioning must be performed using vCenter, as described in this section.
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1
Still logged into the View Planner controller appliance web interface, click the Provision tab.
2
In the Provision VM's using vCenter pane, within the VM name prefix: field, enter a prefix to use for the
VM names.
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3
In the Parent-VM Name: field, enter the name of the template to clone for the run.
This is the name shown in the vSphere Client for the GoldenClient virtual machine.
NOTE Although we use these virtual machines as templates from which to clone other virtual machines,
these are not traditional templates as that term is used in vCenter and should not be converted to vCenter
templates.
4
In the Number of VMs: field, enter the number of virtual machines to provision for the run.
NOTE Depending on the number of virtual machines you provision on each host, some configurations
might require an increase in the number of ports in one or more vSwitches on one or more ESX/ESXi hosts.
5
Create a customization specification, as described in Appendix C, “Create a Customization
Specification,” on page 107, then, in the Spec Name: field, enter the name you gave to the customization
specification.
6
In the Use Linked Clones checkbox, leave the check to use linked clones.
7
In Select Host/Cluster Configuration: choose the radio button for either Host Range, Host List, or
Cluster List.
For Host Range:
a
In the Host Name Prefix: field, enter the prefix used for the host names.
For example, if your first host is host1.domainmame.com, you would enter host here.
b
In the Host Domain: field, enter the name of the domain in which your hosts reside.
For example, if your first host is host1.domainmame.com, you would enter domainname.com here.
c
In the Host Range Start: field, enter the numeric portion of the lowest-numbered host.
For example, if your first host is host1.domainmame.com, you would enter 1 here.
d
In the Host Range End: field, enter the numeric portion of the highest-numbered host.
For example, if your last host is host100.domainmame.com, you would enter 100 here.
For Host List or Cluster List, select the hosts or clusters to use from the provided list.
NOTE To select multiple hosts for Host List or multiple clusters for Cluster List, hold down the <Ctrl>
key and left click the mouse on each desired entity.
8
In the MaxVMsPerHost: field, enter the maximum number of virtual machines to create per ESX host.
9
Click the Provision button.
NOTE There may be a significant delay as View Planner provisions the virtual machines. This delay is
increased when provisioning a large number of systems, and may be more noticeable when provisioning
Windows 7 virtual machines. Provisioning status can be monitored through the vSphere Client, where
status messages are displayed.
10
Wait for provisioning to complete (indicated by a pop-up window saying Provisioning with vCenter was
successful.).
NOTE After the Provisioning with vCenter was successful. message appears, you should allow time for
vCenter to sysprep and power-on the virtual machines before you start a run. In some cases this can take
a substantial amount of time; for very large deployments this might take ten hours or more.
One indicator of completion is a significant and sustained drop in your ESX hosts’ CPU usage; thus when
the CPU usage drops below 20% on all your hosts and remains flat for at least 5 minutes, you can assume
that this process has completed.
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Create a Multi-VM VDI Run Profile
Follow the directions in this section to create a multi-VM VDI run profile.
1
2
3
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Multi-VM-remote-PCoIP.
b
In the Number of VMs / Connections: field, enter the number of desktops you wish to use for this
test.
c
The Ramp up time: is automatically entered based on the number of desktops set in the previous
step. This value can be adjusted manually if desired; the default value is the lesser of:

60 + 2 times the number of connections in the run

600
This is the maximum delay, in seconds, between clicking the Run Test button and the start of the run
on individual desktop virtual machines.
d
In the Desktop / RDSH Name Prefix: field, enter the VM name prefix you provided in “Use View to
Provision a Pool of Desktop Linked Clones” on page 56.
e
recommend you select Remote (rather than Passive) for this test in order to more fully test the client
template.
f
g
StandardBenchmarkProfile_1i, and for %VMs enter 100.
h
i
In the Client Name Prefix: field, enter the VM name prefix you provided in “Use vCenter to
Provision Client Linked Clones” on page 56.
j
k
l
Run a Multi-VM VDI Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a multi-VM test.
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1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created (Multi-VM-remote-PCoIP) is
2
Click Run.
3

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4
5
6
known-good state. We recommend naming these snapshots Tested-MultiVM-VDI.
7
Now that you have successfully completed a multi-VM VDI test of the template virtual machines, proceed
to “Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test” on page 60.
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Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test
If you will be performing RDSH desktop session runs, follow the instructions in this section to configure and
test your environment. If you will not be performing RDSH desktop session runs, proceed to “Perform a
Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test” on page 62.
If you did not provision linked clones in “Use vCenter to Provision Client Linked Clones” on page 56, or did
not provision enough for the multi-VM RDSH tests you are about to perform, go to that section and provision
as many client linked clones as you’ll need for this RDSH test.
Create an RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Run Profile
1
Logged in to the controller appliance and click the Run & Reports tab.
2
3
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Multi-RDSH-Desktop-PCoIP.
b
In the Number of VMs / Connections: field, enter the number of connections you wish to establish
for the run.
c
The Ramp up time: is automatically entered based on the number of connections set in the previous

600
This is the maximum delay, in seconds, between clicking the Run Test button and the start of the
workload in individual sessions.
(When the Run Test button is clicked, each session will begin the run after a randomly-selected delay
of between zero seconds and the number of seconds entered in this field.)
d
In the Desktop / RDSH Name Prefix: field, enter the name/prefix of the windows server virtual
machine(s) you created in “Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 42
(typically GoldenRDSH).
e
recommend you select Remote (rather than Passive) for this multi-VM test in order to more fully test
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f
g
RDSHSessionProfile_1i, and for %VMs enter 100.
h
Under RDSH Type: choose the RDSH Desktop radio button.
i
In the Pool name: field, enter the RDS desktop session pool name.
j
k
In the Client Name Prefix: field enter the VM name prefix you provided in “Use vCenter to Provision
Client Linked Clones” on page 60.
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n
Run a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Desktop Session PCoIP Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a multi-VM remote mode RDSH desktop session test using
PCoIP.
1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created (Multi-RDSH-Desktop-PCoIP)
is shown in the Run Profiles: dropdown box.
2
Click Run.
3

4
5
6
known-good state. We recommend naming these snapshots Tested-MultiRDSHDesktop.
7
Now that you have successfully completed a multi-VM RDSH desktop session PCoIP test of the template
virtual machines, proceed to “Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test”
on page 62.
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Perform a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP
Test
If you will be performing RDSH application session runs, follow the instructions in this section to configure
and test your environment. If you will not be performing RDSH application session runs, proceed to “View
Planner Execution” on page 65.
If you did not provision linked clones in “Use vCenter to Provision Client Linked Clones” on page 56, or did
not provision enough for the multi-VM RDSH tests you are about to perform, go to that section and provision
as many client linked clones as you’ll need for this RDSH test.
Create an RDSH Application Session PCoIP Run Profile
1
Logged in to the controller appliance and click the Run & Reports tab.
2
3
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter Multi-RDSH-Apps-PCoIP.
b
In the Number of VMs / Connections: field, enter the number of connections you wish to establish
for the run.
c
The Ramp up time: is automatically entered based on the number of connections set in the previous

600
This is the maximum delay, in seconds, between clicking the Run Test button and the start of the
workload in individual sessions.
(When the Run Test button is clicked, each session will begin the run after a randomly-selected delay
of between zero seconds and the number of seconds entered in this field.)
d
In the Desktop / RDSH Name Prefix: field, enter the name/prefix of the windows server virtual
machine(s) you created in “Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 42
(typically GoldenRDSH).
e
recommend you select Remote (rather than Passive) for this multi-VM test in order to more fully test
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f
g
RDSHAppProfile_1i, and for %VMs enter 100.
h
Under RDSH Type: choose the RDSH APPs radio button.
i
In the Pool name: field, enter the RDS application session pool name.
j
k
In the Client Name Prefix: field enter the VM name prefix you provided in “Use vCenter to Provision
Client Linked Clones” on page 62.
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n
Run a Multi-VM Remote Mode RDSH Application Session PCoIP Test
Follow the directions in this section to execute a multi-VM remote mode RDSH application session test using
PCoIP.
1
Still on the Run & Reports tab, make sure the run profile you just created (Multi-RDSH-Apps-PCoIP) is
2
Click Run.
3

4
5
6
known-good state. We recommend naming these snapshots Tested-MultiRDSHApps.
7
Now that you have successfully completed a multi-VM RDSH application session PCoIP test of the
template virtual machines, proceed to “View Planner Execution” on page 65.
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2
View Planner Execution
2
Once the View Planner controller appliance, the template desktop virtual machine, and the template client
virtual machine are configured, you are ready to run View Planner.
This chapter describes how to execute a View Planner run.
Configure the View Planner Workload
In benchmark mode, no workload customization is allowed. Instead, View Planner provides preset workload
profiles suitable for testing an environment or running a benchmark test. If you are running a benchmark,
proceed to “Start a View Planner Run” on page 66.
If you are in flexible mode, you can configure the View Planner workload by following these steps:
1
2
Login: root
Password: vmware
3
Click the Config tab.
4
In the Workload Customization pane click New. This will open a New Profile window.
5
In the New Profile window:
6
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a
In the Profile Name: field, enter a name for this workload profile.
b
Select the applications to use for this workload.
c
Select the Multimedia Application speed. This selects from among three different videos with
differing amounts of rapid motion.
A common choice is slow.
d
In the Iterations: field, enter the number of iterations to run.
In order to provide a warm-up period, a reasonable starting value for this field is 5. This affects the
compliance of a run, as described in “View Planner Results and Scoring Methodology” on page 24.
e
In the Think time: field, enter the maximum time (in seconds) you want the workload to pause
between operations. (A random pause of between zero and the maximum value entered in this field
will be inserted between operations.)
A common value for this field is 10. This affects the compliance of a run (for information about
compliance, see “View Planner Benchmark Scores” on page 26).
f
g
At the Client Configuration was Saved! pop-up window, click close.
Your new configuration is now available in the Workload Profiles drop-down menu.
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Start a View Planner Run
This section describes how to start a View Planner run.
NOTE View Planner does not support multiple simultaneous runs. Only one run can be performed on the
View Planner harness at any one time, and View Planner runs can not be performed at the same time as
provisioning operations.
To start a View Planner run:
1
2
Login: root
Password: vmware
3
4
If you will be using an existing run profile, skip to Step 5. Otherwise, create or edit a run profile as follows:
To create a new run profile, click the New button. This will bring up a New Run Profile window.
To edit an existing run profile, select the profile from the drop-down list then click the Load button. This
will bring up an Existing Profile window.
Then, in either the New Run Profile or Existing Profile window:
a
In the Profile Name: field, enter a name for this run profile.
NOTE Profile names must not contain spaces.
NOTE If you are editing an existing profile and want to save the changed version, you must save it
with a new name.
b
In the Number of VMs / Connections: field, enter the number of virtual machines to use in this
profile.
c
In the Ramp up time: field, enter the maximum delay, in seconds, between clicking the Run Test
button and the start of the run on individual desktop virtual machines.
(When the Run Test button is clicked, each desktop virtual machine will begin performing the run
after a randomly-selected delay of between zero seconds and the number of seconds entered in this
field.)
NOTE In addition to setting the ramp up time, as described above, the value in this field also
determines the length of time the harness sleeps after booting the desktop virtual machines. This is
to allow time for CPU and other resource usage to quiesce on these systems.
NOTE Though the best choice for the Ramp up time value will be heavily dependent on your
environment, we recommend you start with a setting of 60 seconds plus 2 seconds for each desktop
virtual machine in the run. Thus for a 100-desktop run you would start with a ramp-up time of 260
seconds.
Setting this value too low will saturate host system resources, potentially causing startup of View
Planner runs to take longer than optimal. Setting it too high will unnecessarily throttle the load, also
causing startup to take longer than optimal.
Therefore if you see ESX host CPU usage spike toward saturation, or storage latency become higher
than expected for your environment, you might try increasing this value for your next View Planner
run. To be a compliant benchmark run, however, this value must be no greater than 60 seconds plus
2 second for each desktop virtual machine in the run and must be no greater than 600 seconds.
Conversely, if you notice consistently low utilization during startup, you might try decreasing this
value for your next View Planner run.
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Chapter 2 View Planner Execution
d
In the Desktop / RDSH Name Prefix: field, enter the prefix to use in the name of each desktop virtual
machine.
e
Choose a run type by selecting either the Local, Passive Clients, or Remote radio button.
f
For passive-mode runs, enter the number of clients.
g
For passive-mode or remote-mode runs, select the appropriate display protocol from the drop-down
menu (RDP, View RDP, or View PCoIP) based on your provisioned virtual machines.
You should choose View RDP or View PCoIP only if you appropriately provisioned those virtual
machines for VMware View.
NOTE Benchmark runs require the View PCoIP display protocol.
h
For passive-mode or remote-mode runs, enter the prefix to use in the name of each client virtual
machine.
i
In the AD Group Settings field, enter the AD name, select a workload profile (for benchmark runs,
you should select StandardBenchmarkProfile_5i), enter the percentage of the virtual machines in
this run that should use this workload profile, and click the Add Group button. Repeat this step until
your groups total 100%.
NOTE If you will be performing only local-mode runs, you do not need AD support. In this case, you
still need to enter a name in this field, but it can be a fictitious name (that is, not the name of a real
AD group).
NOTE These groups will automatically be added to your AD setup once the run is executed.
j
5
Select the desired run profile from the drop-down menu.
6
If desired, click the Check button.
7
Click the Run button.
NOTE You can monitor the run status, and potentially correct any problems with the run, by immediately
proceeding to “Monitor a View Planner Run” on page 67 below.
Monitor a View Planner Run
Once a View Planner run is started, it can be monitored as follows:

Assuming you’re still logged into the controller appliance web interface, make sure you’re on the Run &
Reports tab.
Click the Get Status button.
This will open a series of boxes, each representing a stage in the View Planner run process.
These boxes use the following color-codes:
White: This stage has not yet begun.
Light green: This stage has partially completed.
Dark green: This stage has fully completed.
Orange: This stage is in progress, or is done, but with warnings.
Red: This stage has completed with errors.
Many of these boxes include clickable text which will open a pop-up window with more detailed
information about this stage of the run.
Optionally, click the Generate Report button. This forces the creation of a report (or partial report) while
the results are being uploaded, even when a run is not complete. If no results have been uploaded yet,
then no report will be generated.
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For more detailed information, see “Troubleshoot the Run Test Stage” on page 134. This section includes
instructions to monitor the viewplanner.log file, which can provide the opportunity to quickly see
problems and correct them before they affect your test run.
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3
View Planner Reporting
3
This chapter describes how to see View Planner results once a run is complete and how to submit benchmark
results to VMware.
Review the View Planner Usage and Disclosure Restrictions
View Planner can be used, and results can be disclosed, only when certain rules are followed.
Before disclosing View Planner results, review the End-User License Agreement (EULA) and the Run and
Reporting Rules (RRR), both of which are included in the View Planner documentation package. If you do not
have these files, contact VMware for copies.
See View Planner Results
View Planner results can be viewed through the View Planner controller appliance web interface or, in more
detail, using a reporting script. The following sections describe both methods.
See View Planner Results Through the Web Interface
To see View Planner results, follow these steps:
1
2
Login: root
Password: vmware
3
4
In the Reports pane, look for the run you want to see, then click the appropriate button:

The Latencies button displays a graph showing the average latencies per operation during the run.

The Stats button displays a graph showing statistics collected during the run. Any two types of
statistics chosen from among a large variety of available statistics can be added (by selecting them on
the left drop-down menu and clicking the Add button) or removed (by selecting them on the right
drop-down menu and clicking the Remove button).

The Report button displays a report (in PDF format) summarizing the View Planner run.
All runs performed since installation of the View Planner controller appliance are shown here, identified
by the name the run was given when it was performed.
NOTE View Planner does not currently save data for runs that are canceled with the Stop Test button. If,
after clicking on a run name, a notification window appears indicating No data available for this run it
is because the run was stopped while in progress and the data was not saved for reporting.
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The View Planner Reporting Script
The View Planner appliance contains a reporting script that provides more data about View Planner runs than
is available through the controller appliance web interface. This section describes the reporting script and
provides usage information.
View Planner Reporting Script Output Files
Depending on the arguments used, the reporting script produces some or all of the following output files:

<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.dat
This file contains the raw SQL data for all user operations in all iterations for all virtual machines.

<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.csv
This file contains the mean, median, and standard deviation for the latencies of each user operation, as
well as the total count of each such operation.

<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>-report.txt
This file contains the results of the run.
NOTE You can find more information about View Planner scoring methodology in “View Planner Results
and Scoring Methodology” on page 24 and in the View Planner Run and Reporting Rules.

<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>-runstate.csv
This file is generated except when the reporting script is run on a previously-generated
<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.dat file. This file contains the latency and
runstate data for the run, and, along with the
<testname>-compliance-<datestamp>--<timestamp>.txt and
<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.dat files, allows you to reproduce all the
other result files in the future on another View Planner appliance.

PerVmInfo_<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.dat
This file contains tabulated data indicating, for each virtual machine and for each iteration, how many
times each operation was run.

upload-<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.tar.gz
This file is created only if the reporting script is run with the -d option and a compliance file
(<testname>-compliance-<datestamp>--<timestamp>.txt) exists for the run. This tar.gz file
contains the files necessary to submit View Planner results to VMware.

<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.log
This file contains additional debug logs with detailed warnings and errors for each user operation in the
run.

<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-local.stats
This file contains snapshots, taken at regular intervals, of the average event latencies and event counts for
all user operations performed in the View Planner run. The format is:
<timestamp>,<metric-value>,...<metric-value>
(similar to a VirtualCenter statistics file).
Run the View Planner Reporting Script
Follow these steps to run the reporting script:
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1
Make sure the View Planner controller appliance is powered on.
2
Using SSH (or the vSphere Client), access the console of the View Planner controller appliance and log in
using the default credentials:
Login: root
Password: vmware
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Chapter 3 View Planner Reporting
3
From a command line interface in the controller appliance, run the following:
cd /root/ViewPlanner
python ./report.pyc -a
This will output a list of all runs for which results are available, along with the run start times and the
number of desktop virtual machines in each run.
4
Using the output of the report.pyc -a command, run the following:
python ./report.pyc -t <testname> -m <testmode> [-b] [-d] [-s “<starttime>”] [-cm]
Where <testname> is the name you gave the run, <testmode> is remote, passive, or local, and
<starttime> is the date and time the run was started (the start time must be in quotes, due to the spaces).
NOTE The -b option executes additional validation checks to generate benchmark-compliant results.
The -d option checks for a compliance file
(<testname>-compliance-<datestamp>--<timestamp>.txt) and, if present, generates an
upload-<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<testmode>.tar.gz file.
The -cm option should be used if you intend to submit VDIMARK results for Benchmark consideration.
NOTE The <starttime> option is required only if multiple runs share the same name.
The <testmode> option determines which latencies the script will output:
remote will output the latencies observed on the client (that is, the complete end-to-end latencies).
passive will output the latencies observed at the desktop system (for purposes of the reporting script,
this option is identical to local).
local will output the latencies observed at the desktop system.
For example, the command:
python ./report.pyc -t Test1 -m local -s "2012-01-02 10:15:25"
would run the reporting script on a run named Test1 that was run in local mode on January 2, 2012 at
10:15:25 AM.
You can use the -i and -j options to run the reporting script on a subset of the iterations in a particular run.
For example, including -i 1 -j 3, would process only the iterations starting at 1 and ending at 3.
NOTE Data obtained in this manner is not compliant, and must not be used for publication.
For additional help using the reporting script, make sure you are in the /root/ViewPlanner directory and
type:
python ./report.pyc -h
Results of Runs Using ThinApp or a Nonstandard User Operation Set
View Planner works with ThinApp (as described in “Use ThinApp with View Planner” on page 116) and also
allows runs to be executed with other than the standardized set of user operations.
This section describes how these optional configurations affect the reported results.
Results of Runs Using ThinApp
When one or more of the applications contained in the standardized View Planner workload mix is installed
using ThinApp, the View Planner run proceeds normally. However, no indication is given in the results
output files that the run used ThinApp. It’s therefore a good practice to make a note of this fact, or to indicate
it in the run name.
Results of Runs Using a Subset of the Standardized User Operations
When a run is executed with a subset of the standardized set of user operations, the reporting script output
file (<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>-report.txt) will indicate this fact.
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Following such a subset run, reports are available (as described in “See View Planner Results Through the Web
Interface” on page 69), the reporting script will still report the average latency times, and raw data is still
generated.
Results of Runs Using Custom Operations or Applications
When a run contains one or more custom user operations or applications, the reporting script output file
(<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>-report.txt) will indicate this fact.
Following a run containing custom user operations or applications, reports are available (as described in “See
View Planner Results Through the Web Interface” on page 69), the reporting script will still report the average
latency times, and raw data is still generated.
Creating and Submitting a View Planner Benchmark Full Disclosure
Report
Preparing View Planner benchmark results for publication according to the run and reporting rules involves
the following tasks:

Use the reporting script to generate files detailing the View Planner run (as described in “The View
Planner Reporting Script” on page 70)

Review the compliance file (<testname>-compliance-<datestamp>--<timestamp>.txt) for errors.

Edit the disclosure.HTML file

Submit the benchmark results for review
The following sections detail the last two of these steps.
Edit the disclosure.HTML File
After generating files with the reporting script (as described in “The View Planner Reporting Script” on
page 70), the next step is to create a full disclosure report, as follows:
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1
Obtain the disclosure.html file (part of the Docs.zip file included with the View Planner download)
and the <testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>-report.txt and
<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.csv files (from the /root/ViewPlanner
directory on the View Planner controller appliance).
2
Using a WYSIWYG HTML editor, open the disclosure.html file for editing.
3
Search for instances of ###, and replace ### with the details of your system configuration.
4
In the blank spaces in each section add any additional details pertinent to your submission.
5
In the section of the disclosure template titled Performance Summary, insert the contents of the
<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>-report.txt file for this run.
6
In the section of the disclosure template titled Performance Details, use the HTML editor’s table
conversion functionality, specifying comma as the delimiter, to insert the contents of the
<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.csv file for this run.
7
Save the edited disclosure file as <testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>-<test_mode>.html.
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Chapter 3 View Planner Reporting
Submit the Benchmark Results for Review
Once you have both the tar.gz file and the disclosure file prepared, you’re ready to submit the results for
review. This involves the following steps:
1
Send an email to [email protected] requesting the FTP details for View Planner benchmark
submissions.
NOTE This step only needs to be performed once. The FTP details don’t change for subsequent
submissions.
2
Generate an MD5 sum for the upload-<testname>-<datestamp>--<timestamp>.tar.gz archive.
3
Using the FTP details from step 1, FTP the tar.gz file and the disclosure file to the VMware FTP site.
4
Send email to [email protected] notifying VMware of your submission file names on the FTP site
and the MD5 sum you generated for the tar.gz file.
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A
Create and Prepare the Desktop
Template Virtual Machine
A
This appendix provides information about creating the desktop template virtual machine. This template will
later be cloned as part of the View Planner provisioning process.
NOTE Though this virtual machine will be used as a template from which to clone other virtual machines, this
is not a traditional template as that term is used in vCenter and should not be converted to a vCenter template.
Create the Desktop Template Virtual Machines
Using the New Virtual Machine wizard in ESX, configure a new virtual machine as follows:
different.
1
Connect the vSphere Client to the ESX server where you will create the template virtual machines or the
vCenter Server that controls that ESX Server.
2
Right click on the ESX server where you wish to create the virtual machine and select New Virtual
Machine....
3
In the Create New Virtual Machine window, when you are asked to Select the configuration for the
virtual machine, select the Custom radio button, then click Next.
4
When you are asked to Specify a name and location for this virtual machine, enter GoldenDesktop (for
all operating systems other than Windows Server) or GoldenRDSH (for Windows Server operating
systems), then click Next.
NOTE You can give this system another name if desired, but GoldenDesktop and GoldenRDSH will be
used throughout this guide.
5
When you are asked to Select a destination storage for the virtual machine files, select your desired
datastore, then click Next.
6
When you are asked for a Virtual Machine Version:
7
a
For benchmark mode, select virtual hardware version 8, then click Next.
b
For flexible mode, select virtual hardware version 7 or later (but make sure to select a version that is
supported by all the ESX/ESXi hosts in your environment), then click Next.
When you are asked to Specify the guest operating system to use with this virtual machine, select the
Windows radio button; in the Version: window select the entry corresponding to the Windows version
you’ll be installing; then click Next.
NOTE For a list of compatible operating systems, see “View Planner Flexible Mode Software
Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33.
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8
When you are asked to Select the number of virtual CPUs, select the number of virtual sockets and cores
per virtual socket specified in Table A-1, then click Next.
Table A-1. Required Number of Virtual Sockets and Cores per Virtual Socket
9
Virtual Machine Operating System
Number of Virtual Sockets
Number of Cores/Virtual Socket
Windows XP, 7, or 8
1 virtual socket
1 core per virtual socket
Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, or 2012 R2
4-8 virtual sockets
1 core per virtual socket
When you are asked to Configure the virtual machine’s memory size, select your desired amount, then
click Next. See Table A-2 for the recommended minimum memory configurations.
Table A-2. Recommended Minimum Template Virtual Machine Memory Configurations
10
Recommended Minimum Memory
Windows XP desktop virtual machine
768MB
Windows 7 32-bit desktop virtual machine
1024MB (for benchmark compliance, this must be
exactly 1024MB)
Windows 7 64-bit desktop virtual machine
2048MB
Windows 8.1 32-bit desktop virtual machine
1024MB
Windows 8.1 64-bit desktop virtual machine
2048MB
Windows Server 2008 64-bit desktop virtual machine
6GB for operating system + 600MB/user
Windows Server 2012 64-bit desktop virtual machine
6GB for operating system + 600MB/user
When you are asked Which network connections will be used by the virtual machine?, set the number
of NICs to 1, choose the network to use, choose Adapter type E1000, then click Next.
NOTE Once the VMware Tools suite is installed, you can change this to VMXNET3 for better performance.
11
When asked Which SCSI controller type would you like to use?, select one, then click Next.
NOTE The LSI Logic Parallel SCSI controller might provide better performance than the default SCSI
controller.
If you will be installing Windows XP, note that the driver for this controller is not included on the
Windows XP installation disc. If you select this adapter type for Windows XP you will need to get the
LSI20320-R SCSI host bus adapter driver from http://www.lsi.com/support, copy the driver to a floppy
image, and load it onto the virtual machine to install during boot time. For details see
kb.vmware.com/kb/2004740.
If you will be installing Windows 7, 8, 2008, or 2012 this process is not required; the driver for this
controller is included on the installation discs for these versions.
12
When asked to Select a Disk, choose the Create a new virtual disk radio button, then click Next.
13 When asked to Specify the virtual disk size and provisioning policy, select your desired virtual disk size
(see Table A-3 for recommended virtual disk sizes), select the Thin Provision radio button, select the
Store with the virtual machine radio button, then click Next.
Table A-3. Recommended Template Virtual Machine Virtual Disk Sizes
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Recommended Virtual Disk Size
Windows XP, 7, or 8.1 32-bit
16GB
Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit
24GB
Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, or 2012 R2 64-bit
60GB + 400MB/user
When asked to set Advanced Options, leave them unchanged:
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Appendix A Create and Prepare the Desktop Template Virtual Machine

For Windows XP: Virtual Device Node: IDE (0:0)

For Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2012: Virtual Device Node:
SCSI (0:0)

Mode: Independent: leave unselected
Then click Next.
15
At the Ready to Complete window, add a checkmark to Edit the virtual machine settings before
completion (near the bottom), then click Continue.
16
In the Virtual Machine Properties window, under the Hardware tab, select Video card.
17
In the right pane, under Displays and video memory, ensure that the Specify custom settings radio
button is selected, leave the Number of displays at 1, and change the Total video memory to 35 MB.
NOTE For benchmark runs 3D support should not be enabled. For flexible-mode runs, it is optional.
18
In the Virtual Machine Properties window, click Finish.
19 Proceed to “Install Microsoft Windows in the Template Virtual Machine” on page 78.
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Install Microsoft Windows in the template virtual machine. The simplest way to install an operating system in
a virtual machine is to use an ISO image (or images) of the installation disc (or discs).
NOTE For details about operating system versions that work with View Planner, see “View Planner Flexible
Mode Software Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33,
as appropriate.
Proceed to the appropriate section below for the operating system you will be installing.
Install Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Install Microsoft Windows XP Professional as follows:
1
If you don’t already have an ISO image (or images) of the operating system installation disc(s), create
these using a third-party “CD ripping” software tool.
2
Copy the ISO image file(s) to a file system accessible from the system running the vSphere Client.
3
Select the correct virtual machine (created in “Create the Desktop Template Virtual Machines” on
page 75).
4
From the Summary tab in the vSphere Client, under Commands, select Power On.
5
Select the Console tab in the vSphere Client. You will see the virtual machine try to boot, but fail.
6
Click the Connect/disconnect the CD/DVD devices of the virtual machine button in the menu bar, select
CD/DVD drive 1, then click Connect to ISO image on a local disk....
7
Browse to the ISO image of the first operating system installation disc, select it, and click Open.
8
Still under the Console tab in the vSphere Client, click within the center of the console window (you may
see no change, or your cursor may disappear).
9
Restart the virtual machine by pressing <Ctrl><Alt><Insert> (this will get passed to the virtual machine
as <Ctrl><Alt><Delete>, and cause it to reboot).
The virtual machine will boot from the ISO image.
NOTE If you have problems getting the system to boot from the ISO image, you can press <Esc> as the
virtual machine is booting. This will bring up a boot menu, from which you can select CD-ROM Drive.
10 Follow the Microsoft Windows installation prompts until you are shown the unpartitioned space, then
press <Enter> to set up Windows XP on the selected item.
11
Format the partition using the NTFS file system.
12
Follow the remaining prompts to install Microsoft Windows, choosing default or otherwise-appropriate
settings except in the following cases:
a
When asked for your Name and Organization, enter whatever values you wish (View Planner does
not use these values).
b
When Windows asks for the product key, enter it.
NOTE The key must be one that will work for this virtual machine and any clones that will be created
from it.
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c
When asked for a computer name, enter GoldenDesktop.
d
When asked for an administrator password, enter:
Q1w2e3r4!
e
When asked for network settings, select Typical network settings, then click Next.
f
When given the option of turning on automatic updates, select Not right now, then click Next.
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g
When asked who will use this computer, enter any name desired, then click Next.
13
When the installation is complete, reboot the system.
14
If Windows Setup asks for an additional disc you can supply it as follows:
a
Click the Virtual CDROM(ide0:0) button in the menu bar and select the option that begins with the
word Disconnect.
b
Again click the Virtual CDROM(ide0:0) button in the menu bar, this time selecting Connect to ISO
image...
c
Browse to the ISO image of the second CD, select it, and click Open.
d
Back within the virtual machine, in the Windows Setup window, click OK and follow the prompts.
15 Proceed to “Install the VMware Tools Suite in Microsoft Windows” on page 82.
Install Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise
Install Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise as follows:
1
2
3
page 75).
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Follow the Microsoft Windows installation prompts until you are asked Which type of installation do
you want? Select Custom (advanced).
11
Continue following the installation prompts until you are asked to choose a user name and computer
name.
a
When asked for your user name, enter whatever values you wish (View Planner does not use this
value).
b
When asked for a computer name, enter GoldenDesktop.
12
When asked for a password, enter one of your choice.
13
If asked to Help protect your computer and improve Windows automatically, select Ask me later.
14
Continue following the installation prompts until asked to Select your computer’s current location.
Select Work network.
15
When the installation is complete, the system will present the Windows 7 desktop.
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16
Activate the Windows 7 installation. The procedure to do this varies and should be accomplished as
appropriate for your site.
Install Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise
Install Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise as follows:
1
2
3
page 75).
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Continue following the installation prompts until you are asked to personalize the installation.
12
When asked for a computer name, enter GoldenDesktop, then click Next.
13
When offered the choice of Express Settings or Customize, select Customize.
14
Under Help protect and update your PC:
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Select Automatically install important updates. (Make sure you do not select Automatically install
important and recommended updates.)

For Automatically get device drivers, apps, and info for new devices select Off.
Under Help protect your privacy and your PC:

For Turn on Windows SmartScreen Filter to check files and apps with Microsoft select Off.

For Turn on Internet Explorer SmartScreen Filter to check URLs and downloads with Microsoft
select Off.

For Send a Do Not Track request to websites you visit in Internet Explorer select Off.
16
Click Next.
17
For Send Microsoft info to help make Windows and apps better keep default settings (by default
everything is disabled).
18
Click Next.
19
Under Check online for solutions to problems:
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20

Turn off Use Windows error reporting to check for solutions to problems.

Turn off Use Internet Explorer Compatibility lists to help improve my experience on some sites.
Under Share info with apps:

Turn off Let apps use my name and account picture.

Turn off Windows Location Platform so apps can ask users for their location.
21
Click Next.
22
Under Sign in to your PC, fill in the following fields:

For Username, enter whatever you wish (View Planner does not use this user account).

For Password, enter whatever you wish (View Planner does not use this user account).

For Re-enter Password, reenter the same password.

For Password Hint, enter whatever you wish (View Planner does not use this user account).
23
Click Finish.
24
When the installation is complete, the system will present the Windows 8.1 Metro user interface.
25
Activate the Windows 8.1 installation. The procedure to do this varies and should be accomplished as
Install Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
Install Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise. Follow the directions in “Install Microsoft Windows 7
Enterprise” on page 79, but when asked for a computer name, enter GoldenRDSH (instead of GoldenDesktop),
and make other changes as required.
If you will be using RDSH, enable the license for RDSH.
NOTE You might find that you have a 120-day grace period during which time you can use RDSH without a
license.
Proceed to “Install the VMware Tools Suite in Microsoft Windows” on page 82.
Install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or 2012 R2 Enterprise
Install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or Server 2012 R2 Enterprise. Follow the directions in “Install Microsoft
Windows 8.1 Enterprise” on page 80, but when asked for a computer name, enter GoldenRDSH (instead of
GoldenDesktop), and make other changes as required.
If you will be using RDSH, enable the license for RDSH.
NOTE You might find that you have a 120-day grace period during which time you can use RDSH without a
license.
Proceed to “Install the VMware Tools Suite in Microsoft Windows” on page 82.
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Install the VMware Tools Suite in Microsoft Windows
Follow the instructions in the appropriate section below (Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows
Server 2008, or Windows Server 2012) to install VMware Tools in the desktop template virtual machine.
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows XP Virtual Machines
Install the VMware Tools suite in Windows XP as follows:
1
If the virtual machine is off, power it on.
2
Log in as administrator.
3
In the Inventory pane within the vSphere Client right-click on the virtual machine and select Guest >
Install/Upgrade VMware Tools.
4
When the Install Tools window appears, click Ok.
5
When a Welcome to the installation wizard for VMware Tools window appears, this time inside the
virtual machine console (it may take a few minutes), click Next.
6
When the Setup Type window appears, choose Typical, and click Next.
7
When the Ready to Install the Program window appears, click Install.
8
If a VMware Tools Installation window pops up asking ...Would you like to set your hardware
acceleration level now? click Yes and perform these steps:
a
Follow the directions in the text file that appears.
b
Close the Display Settings and Notepad windows.
9
When the Installation Wizard Completed window appears, click Finish.
10
Click Yes to allow the system to be restarted.
11
If desired, you can now change the virtual NIC Adapter type to VMXNET3 for better network
performance (from the vSphere Client select the virtual machine, then: Edit Settings > Hardware tab >
Add > Ethernet Adapter > Next > Enhanced vmxnet > Next > Finish > OK).
12 Proceed to “Install Windows Updates” on page 84.
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows 7 or Server 2008 Virtual Machines
Install the VMware Tools suite in Windows 7 or Server 2008 as follows:
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1
2
Log in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process.
3
4
5
When an AutoPlay window appears, this time inside the virtual machine console (it may take a few
minutes), click Run setup.exe.
6
When a User Account Control window appears, click Yes.
7
When a Welcome to the installation wizard for VMware Tools window appears, click Next.
8
9
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a
b
11
12
13
If desired, you can at this time change the virtual NIC Adapter type to VMXNET3 for better network
NOTE If using a VMXNET3 virtual NIC in a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 virtual machine that
will be deployed or cloned, you must also install a hotfix from Microsoft in order to retain certain network
settings. Failure to install this hotfix will cause failure of quickprep customization (used by vCenter for
virtual machine provisioning).
This hotfix is not installed during ordinary system updates. Instead, it must be requested from Microsoft.
See kb.vmware.com/kb/1020078 for further information.
14
Proceed to “Install Windows Updates” on page 84.
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 Virtual Machines
Install the VMware Tools suite in Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 as follows:
1
2
Log in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process and ensure you see the Metro user
interface.
3
4
5
Look in upper right corner for Tap to choose what happens with disc and click inside the box.
6
In the dialogue box that opens in the upper right, click Run setup.exe.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
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Install Windows Updates
Install Windows updates in the desktop virtual machine as described in the appropriate section, below.
Update Windows XP
Install Windows XP updates in the desktop virtual machine as follows:
1
If you’re not still logged in as administrator, do so now.
2
Check which service pack your system is running, and upgrade to SP3 if necessary:
a
Open the Control Panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel).
b
Click Performance and Maintenance.
c
Click System.
d
In the System Properties window, under the General tab, note the Service Pack the system is
running.
e
Click OK to close the System Properties window.
f
If the system is not running Service Pack 3 (SP3), download SP3 (KB936929) from the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4
g
Run the SP3 package and follow the instruction to install it.
h
When the SP3 installation is completed, the machine will restart.
3
Select Start > Windows Update (on some systems, Start > All Programs > Windows Update).
4
If an Internet Explorer - Security Warning message appears, asking if you want to install the software,
click Install.
5
At the Windows Update page, if needed, click Install Now.
6
Choose the Custom option.
7
Select and install all available high-priority Windows updates.
NOTE If you are asked during the installation process to install a new version of Internet Explorer, make
sure that version is on the version list in “View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on page 29
or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33, as appropriate. If it is, agree and follow
the installation instructions.
8
Return to Step 3 and repeat the update procedure until no more high-priority Windows updates are
available.
9
Proceed to “Add the Desktop Template Virtual Machine to the Dedicated Domain” on page 86.
Update Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008
Install Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 updates in the desktop virtual machine as follows:
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1
Still logged in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process, select Start > All Programs.
2
Under All Programs, click Windows Update.
3
In the light blue bar on the left, click Check for updates.
4
Install all available Important Windows updates, including any service packs or newer version of
Internet Explorer (if it is on the version list in “View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on
page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33, as appropriate), accepting
agreements and restarting the system as needed.
5
Repeat the update procedure until no additional Important Windows updates are available.
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6
In Windows 7, if you will be running View Planner benchmark tests, uninstall Internet Explorer version
11 and Internet Explorer version 10, leaving your desktop virtual machine with Internet Explorer version
9.x. (View Planner works with these version of Internet Explorer, but benchmark runs are only compliant
when run with Internet Explorer version 9.x.)
7
Close the Control Panel window.
8
Proceed to “Add the Desktop Template Virtual Machine to the Dedicated Domain” on page 86.
Update Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012
Install Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 updates in the desktop virtual machine as follows:
1
interface.
2
In the Metro user interface, click on the tile labeled Desktop.
3
Type <Windows>+<R>.
4
When the Run dialogue box opens, enter control in the text box and click OK.
5
In the Control Panel, click on System and Security.
6
Within Systems and Security click Windows Update.
7
8
Install all available Important Windows updates, including a service pack or a newer version of Internet
Explorer (if it is on the version list in “View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on page 29
or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33, as appropriate), accepting agreements
and restarting the system as needed.
9
10
11 Proceed to “Add the Desktop Template Virtual Machine to the Dedicated Domain” on page 86.
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Add the Desktop Template Virtual Machine to the Dedicated Domain
Perform the steps in the appropriate section below (Windows XP, Windows 7 or 2008, or Windows 8.1 or 2012)
to add the desktop template virtual machine to the dedicated domain.
NOTE If you will be performing only local-mode tests with View Planner, adding the desktop template virtual
machine to the dedicated domain is optional.
Add a Windows XP System to the Dedicated Domain
Add a Windows XP system to the dedicated domain as follows:
1
Still logged in as Administrator, open the Control Panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel).
2
Open Network Connections.
3
Right-click Local Area Connection and select Properties.
4
In the Local Area Connection Properties window, under the General tab, select Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) (you might need to scroll down), then click the Properties button.
5
In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window, select the Use the following DNS server
addresses: radio button.
6
In the Preferred DNS server: field, enter your AD server IP address.
7
Click OK to close the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window.
8
Click OK to close the Local Area Connection Properties window.
9
In the Network Connections window, click Back.
10
Back at the Control Panel, open System.
11
At the System Properties window, select the Computer Name tab.
12
Click the Change button.
13
In the Computer name: field, enter GoldenDesktop.
14
Under Member of, select the Domain radio button, add the View/AD domain name, then click OK.
15
At the credential window enter the appropriate AD administrator credentials, then click OK.
16
At the Restart System window, click Yes.
17 Proceed to “Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 90.
Add a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 System to the Dedicated Domain
Add a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 system to the dedicated domain as follows:
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1
Still logged in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process, open the Control Panel
(Start > Control Panel).
2
In the Control Panel window, click Network and Internet.
3
In the Network and Internet window, under Network and Sharing Center, click View Network status
and tasks.
4
In the Network Sharing Center window, click Local Area Connection.
5
In the Local Area Connection Status window, click the Properties button.
6
Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click the Properties button.
7
In the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window, select the Use the following DNS
server addresses: radio button.
8
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9
Click OK to close the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window.
10
Click Close to close the Local Area Connection Properties window.
11
Click Close to close the Local Area Connection Status window.
12
In the Network and Sharing Center window, click the back arrow (in the upper left).
13
In the Network and Internet window, click the back arrow (in the upper left).
14
Back at the Control Panel, click System and Security.
15
In the System and Security window, click System.
16
In the light-blue bar on the left, click Advanced system settings.
17
18
19
In the Computer name: field, make sure it says GoldenDesktop (for Windows 7) or GoldenRDSH (for
Windows Server 2008).
20
21
22
23 Proceed to “Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 90 (for Windows 7)
or “Install the Remote Desktop Licensing Role Service in Windows Server 2008 or 2012” on page 89 (for
Add a Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 System to the Dedicated Domain
Add a Windows 8.1 system to the dedicated domain as follows:
1
interface.
2
3
Type <Windows>+<R>.
4
When the Run dialogue box opens, enter control in the text box and click OK.
5
In the Control Panel window, click Network and Internet.
6
In the Network and Internet window, under Network and Sharing Center, click View Network status
and tasks.
7
In the Network Sharing Center window, click Local Area Connection.
8
In the Local Area Connection Status window, click the Properties button.
9
Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click the Properties button.
10
In the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window, select the Use the following DNS
server addresses: radio button.
11
12
Click OK to close the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window.
13
Click Close to close the Local Area Connection Properties window.
14
Click Close to close the Local Area Connection Status window.
15
In the Network and Sharing Center window, click the back arrow (in the upper left).
16
In the Network and Internet window, click the back arrow (in the upper left).
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17
Back at the Control Panel, click System and Security.
18
In the System and Security window, click System.
19
In the light-blue bar on the left, click Advanced system settings.
20
21
22
In the Computer name: field, make sure it says GoldenDesktop (for Windows 8.1) or GoldenRDSH (for
23
24
25
26
Proceed to “Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 90 (for Windows 8.1)
or “Install the Remote Desktop Licensing Role Service in Windows Server 2008 or 2012” on page 89 (for
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Install the Remote Desktop Licensing Role Service in Windows Server
2008 or 2012
For Windows Server 2008 and 2012 systems (but not Windows XP, 7, or 8 systems), install the Remote Desktop
Licensing (RD Licensing) role service using the appropriate Microsoft documentation.
Proceed to “Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on page 90.
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Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine
Perform the following steps to install the workload applications in the desktop template virtual machine.
1
2
Log in to the virtual machine:

For Windows XP, log in as administrator.

For Windows 7, 8, 2008, or 2012, log in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process.
3
For Windows 8.1 or 2012 (but not XP, 7, or 2008): in the Metro user interface, click on the tile labeled
Desktop.
4
For Windows Server 2008 or 2012, put the RDSH server into installation mode, as instructed by
Microsoft).
5
Install Microsoft Office (for supported versions see “View Planner Flexible Mode Software
Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33, as
appropriate) in the GoldenDesktop/GoldenRDSH virtual machine.
a
If you don’t already have an ISO image (or images) of the Microsoft Office installation disc(s), create
b
c
Select the GoldenDesktop/GoldenRDSH virtual machine.
d
Click the Virtual CDROM(ide0:0) button in the menu bar and select Connect to ISO image...
e
Browse to the ISO image of the first Microsoft Office installation disc, select it, and click Open.
f
Within the virtual machine, open the Office installation disc and perform a default installation.
NOTE Do not update Microsoft Office with any service packs. View Planner has only been tested with
the initial release version.
6
Install and configure Mozilla Firefox:
NOTE These instructions are for Firefox version 7.0.1. Other versions will be slightly different.
a
Download and perform a default installation of Mozilla Firefox (for supported versions see “View
Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software
Requirements” on page 33, as appropriate). During the installation, leave the checkbox for Make
Firefox my default browser selected.
NOTE To download a Firefox version other than the current release, try
ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/.
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b
Start Firefox, then go to Tools > Options.
c
Select Advanced.
d
Select the Update tab.
e
Under Automatically check for updates to: unselect the three checkboxes (Firefox, Add-ons, and
Search Engines).
f
Click OK.
g
Close Firefox.
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7
Download and perform a default installation of Adobe Reader (for supported versions see “View Planner
Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements”
on page 33, as appropriate).
NOTE To download an Adobe Reader version other than the current release, try
http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions.
8
If you will be running custom applications (as described in “Using Custom Applications in View Planner”
on page 121), download and install AutoIT.
9
For Windows Server 2008 or 2012, put the RDSH server into execution mode, as instructed by Microsoft).
10
Proceed to “Install the View Agent” on page 92.
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Install the View Agent
Install the View Agent in the desktop template virtual machine, as described below, then take a snapshot of
the virtual machine.
Install the View Agent in the Desktop Virtual Machine
Follow these steps to install the View Agent in the desktop template virtual machine.
NOTE This section is required only if your View Planner setup will use the View RDP or View PCoIP display
protocols. If your setup will use only vCenter and Microsoft RDP, you can skip this step.
NOTE Due to the use of View PCoIP for View Planner benchmark runs, installation of the View Agent is
required if you will be using View Planner in benchmark mode.
1
Obtain the View Agent installation file (this will have come with the VMware View distribution package).
NOTE This is the View Agent installation file, not the View Client installation file you will install in the
client virtual machine in “Create and Prepare the Client Template Virtual Machine” on page 95.
Make sure you have the correct version of the View Agent installation file; it should match the version of
View you are running and should be either 32-bit or 64-bit to match your operating system version. For
example, for View 5.0, the file names would be similar to:
32-bit: VMware-viewagent-5.0.0-xxxxxx.exe
64-bit: VMware-viewagent-x86_64-5.0.0-xxxxxx.exe
(where xxxxxx is the six-digit View build number).
2
3
Log in to the desktop virtual machine:

For Windows XP, log in as administrator.

For Windows 7, 8, 2008, or 2012 log in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process.
Follow the instructions in the VMware View Administration documentation to install the View Agent in the
desktop virtual machine.
NOTE During the View Agent installation, in the Custom Setup window, in the left pane, click Virtual
printing and select This feature will not be available and click Next.
4
When the View Agent installer requests that you restart the desktop template virtual machine, do so.
5
Proceed to “Take a Snapshot of the Virtual Machine” on page 92.
Take a Snapshot of the Virtual Machine
We strongly recommend that before proceeding to the next step (installing the View Planner agent software
in the desktop virtual machine) you shut down the virtual machine, take a snapshot of it (we recommend
naming the snapshot ReadyforViewPlannerSetupFiles), then restart it. That way if problems occur, you
can revert to this stage.
Once the snapshot is done, proceed to “Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software” on page 93.
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Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software
This section describes downloading and installing the View Planner agent software for the desktop template
virtual machine.
NOTE Before installing the agent software in the desktop template virtual machine, you must first install the
required applications, as described in “Install Applications in the Desktop Template Virtual Machine” on
page 90 and add the desktop to the private domain.
Download the View Planner Agent Software File
1
Make sure that the current user on the windows machine is the local Administrator (for Windows XP) or
the user created as part of the Windows installation process (for Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows
Server 2008, or Windows Server 2012).
2
Within each of the Windows template virtual machines, open Internet Explorer:

For Windows XP, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008: (Start Menu > All Programs > Internet
Explorer).

For Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012:

Log in as the user created as part of installation process and ensure you see the Metro user
interface.

Click the Internet Explorer icon in the lower left corner of the screen.
3
In Internet Explorer, enter the following URL:
http://<ip-address>/Packages/Desktop/
Where <ip-address> is the static IP address you assigned to the controller appliance in “Configure Your
4
Click the ViewPlanner_Agent_For_Desktop.zip file.
5
6
Install the View Planner Agent Software File
1
2
Open the newly-created folder, right click on the ViewPlanner_Agent_For_Desktop.exe file, and select
Run as Administrator.
Wait while the various packages are installed and configured.
NOTE During the installation process, pop-up windows requesting user input might appear. Do not
interact with these pop-up windows; the installation process will handle them automatically.
You might also observe breaks in the process, making it seem that the installation has completed. Wait
through these breaks, letting the installation continue until the system reboots and you see the specific
pop-up window mentioned below.
Once the installation is complete, the View Planner agent will shut down the desktop virtual machine,
take a snapshot, then power it back on.
3
After the desktop virtual machine has powered back on, verify that the virtual machine has a snapshot
titled VPAgentInstalled.
4
On the desktop virtual machine, at the Installation Complete popup window, click OK.
5
In the VMware ViewPlanner Installation Progress window, make sure everything is highlighted in
green, then click the Close button.
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If any step in VMware ViewPlanner Installation Progress window is highlighted in red, check the
C:\viewplanner-agent-installer.log file for any errors or warnings.
6
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Proceed to “Create a Single-VM Local Mode Run Profile” on page 42.
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B
Create and Prepare the Client
Template Virtual Machine
B
This appendix provides information about creating the client template virtual machine. This templates will
later automatically be cloned by View Planner.
NOTE Though this virtual machines will be used as templates from which to clone other virtual machines,
this is not a traditional template as that term is used in vCenter and should not be converted to a vCenter
template.
Create the Client Template Virtual Machine
Using the New Virtual Machine wizard in ESX, configure a new virtual machine with the following settings:
different.
1
Connect the vSphere Client to the ESX server where you will create the template virtual machines or the
vCenter Server that controls that ESX Server.
2
Right click on the ESX server where you wish to create the virtual machine and select New Virtual
Machine....
3
In the Create New Virtual Machine window, when you are asked to Select the configuration for the
virtual machine, select the Custom radio button, then click Next.
4
When you are asked to Specify a name and location for this virtual machine, enter GoldenClient, then
click Next.
NOTE You can give this system another name if desired, but the name GoldenClient will be used
throughout this guide.
5
When you are asked to Select a destination storage for the virtual machine files, select your desired
datastore, then click Next.
6
When you are asked for a Virtual Machine Version:
7
a
For benchmark mode, select virtual hardware version 9, then click Next.
b
For flexible mode, select virtual hardware version 7, 8, or 9 (but make sure to select a version that is
supported by all the ESX/ESXi hosts in your environment), then click Next.
When you are asked to Specify the guest operating system to use with this virtual machine, select the
Windows radio button; in the Version: window select the entry corresponding to the Windows version
you’ll be installing; then click Next.
NOTE For a list of compatible operating systems, see “View Planner Flexible Mode Software
Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33.
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8
When you are asked to Select the number of virtual CPUs, select 1 virtual socket and 1 core per virtual
socket, then click Next.
9
When you are asked to Configure the virtual machine’s memory size, select your desired amount, then
click Next. See Table B-1 for the recommended minimum memory configurations.
Table B-1. Recommended Minimum Template Virtual Machine Memory Configurations
10
Virtual Machine Role
Recommended Minimum Memory
Client virtual machine (for remote mode)
768MB
Client virtual machine (for passive mode)
200MB + 400MB * number of desktop virtual
machines to be controlled by each passive-mode
client
When you are asked Which network connections will be used by the virtual machine?, set the number
of NICs to 1, choose the network to use, choose Adapter type E1000, then click Next.
NOTE Once the VMware Tools suite is installed, you can change this to VMXNET3 for better performance.
11
When asked Which SCSI controller type would you like to use?, select one, then click Next.
12
When asked to Select a Disk, choose the Create a new virtual disk radio button, then click Next.
13
When asked to Specify the virtual disk size and provisioning policy, select 16GB, select the Thin
Provision radio button, select the Store with the virtual machine radio button, then click Next.
14
When asked to set Advanced Options, leave them unchanged:

Virtual Device Node: IDE (0:0)

Mode: Independent: leave unselected
Then click Next.
15
At the Ready to Complete window, add a checkmark to Edit the virtual machine settings before
completion (near the bottom), then click Continue.
16
In the Virtual Machine Properties window, under the Hardware tab, select Video card.
17
In the right pane, under Displays and video memory, ensure that the Specify custom settings radio
button is selected, leave the Number of displays at 1, and change the Total video memory to 35 MB.
18
In the Virtual Machine Properties window, click Finish.
19 Proceed to “Install Microsoft Windows in the Template Virtual Machine” on page 97.
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Appendix B Create and Prepare the Client Template Virtual Machine
Install Microsoft Windows in the template virtual machine. The simplest way to install an operating system in
a virtual machine is to use an ISO image (or images) of the installation disc (or discs).
NOTE For details about operating system versions that work with View Planner, see “View Planner Flexible
Mode Software Requirements” on page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33,
as appropriate.
Proceed to the appropriate section below for the operating system you will be installing.
Install Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Install Microsoft Windows XP Professional as follows:
1
2
3
Select the correct virtual machine (created in “Create the Client Template Virtual Machine” on page 95).
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Follow the Microsoft Windows installation prompts until you are shown the unpartitioned space, then
press <Enter> to set up Windows XP on the selected item.
11
Format the partition using the NTFS file system.
12
Follow the remaining prompts to install Microsoft Windows, choosing default or otherwise-appropriate
settings except in the following cases:
a
When asked for your Name and Organization, enter whatever values you wish (View Planner does
not use these values).
b
When Windows asks for the product key, enter it.
NOTE The key must be one that will work for this virtual machine and any clones that will be created
from it.
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c
When asked for a computer name, enter GoldenClient.
d
When asked for an administrator password, enter:
Q1w2e3r4!
e
When asked for network settings, select Typical network settings, then click Next.
f
When given the option of turning on automatic updates, select Not right now, then click Next.
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g
When asked who will use this computer, enter any name desired, then click Next.
13
When the installation is complete, reboot the system.
14
If Windows Setup asks for an additional disc you can supply it as follows:
a
Click the Virtual CDROM(ide0:0) button in the menu bar and select the option that begins with the
word Disconnect.
b
Again click the Virtual CDROM(ide0:0) button in the menu bar, this time selecting Connect to ISO
image...
c
Browse to the ISO image of the second CD, select it, and click Open.
d
Back within the virtual machine, in the Windows Setup window, click OK and follow the prompts.
Install Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise
Install Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise as follows:
1
2
3
Select the correct virtual machine (created in “Create the Client Template Virtual Machine” on page 95).
4
5
6
7
8
9
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10
11
Continue following the installation prompts until you are asked to choose a user name and computer
name.
a
When asked for your user name, enter whatever values you wish (View Planner does not use this
value).
b
When asked for a computer name, enter GoldenClient.
12
When asked for a password, enter one of your choice.
13
If asked to Help protect your computer and improve Windows automatically, select Ask me later.
14
Continue following the installation prompts until asked to Select your computer’s current location.
Select Work network.
15
When the installation is complete, the system will present the Windows 7 desktop.
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Activate the Windows 7 installation. The procedure to do this varies and should be accomplished as
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Install the VMware Tools Suite in Microsoft Windows
Follow the instructions in the appropriate section below (Windows XP or Windows 7) to install VMware Tools
in the desktop template virtual machine.
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows XP Virtual Machines
Install the VMware Tools suite in Windows XP as follows:
1
2
Log in as administrator.
3
4
5
When a Welcome to the installation wizard for VMware Tools window appears, this time inside the
virtual machine console (it may take a few minutes), click Next.
6
7
8
a
b
9
10
11
After the system restarts, log in as administrator.
12
If desired, you can now change the virtual NIC Adapter type to VMXNET3 for better network
13 Proceed to “Install Windows Updates” on page 102.
Install the VMware Tools Suite in Windows 7 Virtual Machines
Install the VMware Tools suite in Windows 7 as follows:
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1
2
Log in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process.
3
4
5
When an AutoPlay window appears, this time inside the virtual machine console (it may take a few
minutes), click Run setup.exe.
6
7
8
9
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10
a
b
11
12
13
After the system restarts, log in as administrator.
14
NOTE If using a VMXNET3 virtual NIC in a Windows 7 virtual machine that will be deployed or cloned,
you must also install a hotfix from Microsoft in order to retain certain network settings. Failure to install
this hotfix will cause failure of quickprep customization (used by vCenter for virtual machine
provisioning).
This hotfix is not installed during ordinary system updates. Instead, it must be requested from Microsoft.
See kb.vmware.com/kb/1020078 for further information.
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Install Windows Updates
Install Windows updates in the desktop virtual machine as described in the appropriate section below.
Update Windows XP
Install Windows XP updates in the client virtual machine as follows:
1
If you’re not still logged in as administrator, do so now.
2
Check which service pack your system is running, and upgrade to SP3 if necessary:
a
Open the Control Panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel).
b
Click Performance and Maintenance.
c
Click System.
d
In the System Properties window, under the General tab, note the Service Pack the system is
running.
e
Click OK to close the System Properties window.
f
If the system is not running Service Pack 3 (SP3), download SP3 (KB936929) from the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4
g
Run the SP3 package and follow the instruction to install it.
h
When the SP3 installation is completed, the machine will restart.
3
Select Start > Windows Update (on some systems, Start > All Programs > Windows Update).
4
If an Internet Explorer - Security Warning message appears, asking if you want to install the software,
click Install.
5
At the Windows Update page, if needed, click Install Now.
6
Choose the Custom option.
7
Select and install all available high-priority Windows updates.
NOTE If you are asked during the installation process to install a new version of Internet Explorer, make
sure that version is on the version list in “View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on page 29
or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33, as appropriate. If it is, agree and follow
the installation instructions.
8
Return to Step 3 and repeat the update procedure until no more high-priority Windows updates are
available.
9
Check which version of RDP you are running:
10
a
Browse to C:\WINDOWS\system32.
b
Right-click on mstsc.exe.
c
Select Properties.
d
Select the Version tab.
e
Note the File version.
If the RDP version string is less than 6.1.x, go to this URL and follow the instructions to download and
install RDP version 7.0:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=72158b4e-b527-45e4-af24-d02938a95683&
displaylang=en
NOTE The RDP 7.0 client (the minimum version that should be used with View Planner 3.5) shows a
version string of 6.1.7600.16385.
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11 Proceed to “Install the View Client” on page 104.
Update Windows 7
Install Windows 7 updates in the desktop virtual machine as follows:
1
Still logged in as the user created as part of the Windows installation process, select Start > All Programs.
2
Under All Programs, click Windows Update.
3
4
Install all available Important Windows updates, including any service packs or newer version of
Internet Explorer (if it is on the version list in “View Planner Flexible Mode Software Requirements” on
page 29 or “View Planner Benchmark Software Requirements” on page 33, as appropriate), accepting
agreements and restarting the system as needed.
5
6
7
Proceed to “Install the View Client” on page 104.
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Install the View Client
Install the View Client, then take a snapshot of the client virtual machine, as described below.
Install the View Client in the Client Virtual Machine
Follow these steps to install the View Client in the client template virtual machine.
NOTE This section is required only if your View Planner setup will use the View RDP or View PCoIP display
protocols. If your setup will use only vCenter and Microsoft RDP, you can skip this step.
NOTE Due to its use of View PCoIP, the View Client is required for View Planner benchmark runs.
1
Log in to the client virtual machine as administrator.
2
Obtain from VMware the View Client appropriate for your version of View.
3
Follow the instructions in the VMware View Administration documentation to install the View Client in the
client virtual machine.
4
Proceed to “Take a Snapshot of the Virtual Machine” on page 104.
Take a Snapshot of the Virtual Machine
We strongly recommend that before proceeding to the next step (installing the View Planner agent software
in the desktop virtual machine) you shut down the virtual machine, take a snapshot of it (we recommend
naming the snapshot ReadyforViewPlannerSetupFiles), then restart it. That way if problems occur, you
can revert to this stage.
Once the snapshot is done, proceed to “Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software” on page 105.
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Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software
This section describes downloading and installing the View Planner agent software for the client template
virtual machine.
Download the View Planner Agent Software
1
Make sure that the current user on the windows machine is the local Administrator.
2
Within the client template virtual machine, open Internet Explorer (Start Menu > All Programs > Internet
Explorer).
3
In Internet Explorer, enter the following URL:
http://<ip-address>/Packages/Client/
Where <ip-address> is the static IP address you assigned to the controller appliance in “Configure Your
4
Click the ViewPlanner_Agent_For_Client.zip file.
5
When Internet Explorer asks where to save the file, select C:\.
6
Install the View Planner Agent Software
1
Open the zip file you just downloaded and extract the contents to a new folder you create at the root of
C:\.
2
Open the newly-created folder, right click on the ViewPlanner_Agent_For_Client.exe file, and select
Run as Administrator.
3
Open the newly-created folder and double-click the ViewPlanner_Agent_For_Client.exe file.
Wait while the various packages are installed and configured.
NOTE During the installation process, pop-up windows requesting user input might appear. Do not
interact with these pop-up windows; the installation process will handle them automatically.
You might also observe breaks in the process, making it seem that the installation has completed. Wait
through these breaks, letting the installation continue until the system reboots and you see the specific
pop-up window mentioned below.
Once the installation is complete, the View Planner agent will shut down the client virtual machine, take
a snapshot, then power it back on.
NOTE If you see a black screen, close and reopen the console.
4
After the client virtual machine has powered back on, verify that the virtual machine has a snapshot titled
VPAgentInstalled.
5
On the client virtual machine, at the Installation Complete popup window, click OK.
6
In the VMware ViewPlanner Installation Progress window, make sure everything is highlighted in
green, then click the Close button.
If any step in VMware ViewPlanner Installation Progress window is highlighted in red, check the
C:\viewplanner-agent-installer.log file for any errors or warnings.
7
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Proceed to “Customize View Planner for Your AD Installation” on page 45.
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C
Create a Customization Specification
C
This appendix describes creation of the customization specification required when View Planner uses vCenter
for virtual machine provisioning.
Download and Install the Sysprep Deployment Tool
If you will be creating a customization specification for Windows XP systems, you will need to download and
install the Sysprep deployment tool, as described below. (This is not needed if you will only be using Windows
7 systems.)
1
Download the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Deployment Tools (sysprep) from the following URL:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=673a1019-8e3e-4be0-ac31-70dd21b5afa7
&displaylang=en
2
On the system where your version 4.x vCenter Server is running, extract all ten files from the package into
the following directory:
For Windows Server 2003 systems:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware
VirtualCenter\sysprep\xp
For Windows Server 2008 systems:
C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\xp
For more information on this topic, see the following KB article:
kb.vmware.com/kb/1005593
Create the Customization Specifications
Create two customization specifications, one for the client template virtual machines and one for the desktop
template virtual machines, as described in the following two sections.
Create the Desktop Customization Specification
1
Start the vSphere Client Windows Guest Customization wizard (View > Management > Customization
Specifications Manager, then click the New icon).
2
In the New Customization Specification window, under Target Virtual Machine OS, choose Windows.
The Name: and Description: fields can be whatever you wish, but should indicate that this specification
is for the desktop virtual machines.
3
In the Registration Information window, enter the name and organization to use for the Windows
registrations, then click Next.
4
In the Computer Name window, either select Enter a name and enter a name for the cloned virtual
machines, or select Use the virtual machine name, then click Next.
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5
In the Windows License window, enter a Product Key, unselect Include Server License Information,
then click Next.
6
In the Administrator Password window, enter and confirm Q1w2e3r4! as the password for the
administrator account, select Automatically log on as the Administrator, set the number of times to logon
automatically to 100, then click Next.
7
In the Time Zone window, select your time zone, then click Next.
8
In the Run Once window, enter C:\psysprep.bat, click Add, then click Next.
9
In the Network window, select the Custom settings radio button, then click Next.
10
In the Network Interface Customizations window, select NIC1, choose Use DHCP, choose Use the
following DNS server addresses, enter your DNS server IP addresses, then click Next.
11
In the Workgroup or Domain window, select the Windows Server Domain radio button, enter the
private dedicated domain you will be using for your View Planner tests, enter Administrator for
username, enter and confirm the administrator password for the domain, then click Next.
12
In the Operating System Options window, make sure Generate New Security ID (SID) is selected, then
click Next.
13
In the Ready to Complete window, click Finish.
Create the Client Customization Specification
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1
Start the vSphere Client Windows Guest Customization wizard (View > Management > Customization
Specifications Manager, then click the New icon).
2
In the New Customization Specification window, under Target Virtual Machine OS, choose Windows.
The Name: and Description: fields can be whatever you wish, but should indicate that this specification
is for the client virtual machines.
3
In the Registration Information window, enter the name and organization to use for the Windows
registrations, then click Next.
4
In the Computer Name window, select Enter a name, enter a name for the cloned virtual machines, select
Use the virtual machine name, then click Next.
5
In the Windows License window, enter a Product Key, unselect Include Server License Information,
then click Next.
6
In the Administrator Password window, enter and confirm Q1w2e3r4! as the password for the
administrator account, select Automatically log on as the Administrator, set the number of times to logon
automatically to 100, then click Next.
7
In the Time Zone window, select your time zone, then click Next.
8
In the Run Once window, leave the entry blank, then click Next.
9
In the Network window:
a
Select the Custom settings radio button, then click Next.
b
Select a network interface to customize.
c
In the Network Properties window, within the DNS Server tile, enter into Preferred DNS Server the
IP address of the DNS server used by the View Connection server.
d
Click OK, then click Next.
10
In the Workgroup or Domain window, select the Workgroup radio button, then click Next.
11
In the Operating System Options window, make sure Generate New Security ID (SID) is selected, then
click Next.
12
In the Ready to Complete window, click Finish.
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D
Optional and Advanced
Configurations, Settings, and Tasks
D
This appendix describes a number of optional settings and configurations for use with View Planner.
Set Time Zone in View Planner Appliance
If desired, set the View Planner Controller Appliance time zone by following the instructions here, or using
one of the methods described in the link below.
Setting the View Planner Controller Appliance time zone:
1
Boot the View Planner controller appliance.
2
Using the vSphere Client to access the console of the View Planner controller appliance, log in to the
controller appliance using the default credentials:
Login: root
Password: vmware
3
Select Set Timezone.
4
Follow the prompts to configure the time zone as desired.
Alternatively, you can set the timezone using either of the methods specified in this link:
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2010/09/change-timezone-in-linux/
Change Security Settings for the View Server and AD Host Operating
Systems
The following changes to the host operating system in which you will be running View Server and
the host operating system in which you will be running an Active Directory server are optional.
NOTE These instructions assume you have already:

installed an appropriate version of Windows Server (see “VMware vCenter Server” on page 29),

added the system to the private domain on which your vCenter Server and desktop virtual machines will
reside, and

installed View Server on that system (as described in the View Server installation guide).
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Disable Open File Security Warning
NOTE These instructions are for Windows Server 2003 R2 Service Pack 2. Other operating systems
will be slightly different.
1
Log in to the host operating system as administrator.
2
Open the Control Panel (typically Start > Settings > Control Panel).
3
Double-click Internet Options.
4
In the Internet Properties window, select the Security tab.
5
Click the Custom level... button.
6
Scroll down to Miscellaneous > Launching applications and unsafe files, and change the setting to
Enable (not secure).
7
Click OK to close the Security Setting - Internet Zone window.
8
At the Are you sure you want to change the settings for this zone? warning, click Yes.
9
At the Internet Properties window, click OK.
10
Close the Control Panel.
Disable Internet Explorer Security Settings Check
NOTE These instructions are for Windows Server 2003 R2, with all updates (including Internet
Explorer 8.x). Other operating systems will be slightly different.
1
Start gpedit:
a
From the Start menu, select Run.
b
In the Run window, type gpedit.msc.
c
Click OK.
There might be a significant delay before the window opens.
2
In the left pane of the Group Policy Object Editor window, expand Local Computer Policy > Computer
Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components.
3
Still in the left pane, click Internet Explorer.
4
In the right pane, scroll down to Turn off the Security Settings Check feature, right-click it, and select
Properties.
5
In the Turn off the Security Settings Check feature Properties window, select Enabled, then click OK.
6
Close the Group Policy Object Editor window.
Increase Concurrent Power-Ons and Workload Starts
To reduce the setup time for large View Planner runs you can increase the numbers of concurrent virtual
machine power-ons and concurrent workload starts. To do so, follow these steps:
1
Login: root
Password: vmware
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2
3
Open the adminops.cfg file for editing using any text editor (vi, vim, etc.).
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Appendix D Optional and Advanced Configurations, Settings, and Tasks
4
Increase the value of the following parameters to suit your environment:
CONCURRENT_POWERONS_ONE_MINUTE=8
CONCURRENT_LOGONS_ONE_MINUTE=8
These two variables determine how many virtual machines will be powered on per minute, and how
many workloads will be started per minute, respectively. The default value for each variable is 64.
5
Save and close the file.
6
Restart vdiappd:
$service vdiappd restart
Avoid Unneeded Desktop Power-Cycles
To reduce the total run time for large View Planner runs, you can skip power cycling desktop virtual machines.
To use this option, however, all the desktop virtual machines to be used for the run must be ready to use. This
means they must all be in one of the following states:
1
Freshly provisioned and running python c:\runbench.pyc in a command window.
or:
2
Having completed a previous run after which the user has logged out. (This state is only relevant for
remote-mode and passive-mode runs.)
To change this configuration, follow these steps:
1
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
3
4
Change the value of POWERON_DESKTOPS from 1 to 0:
POWERON_DESKTOPS=0
5
6
Restart vdiappd:
NOTE To subsequently enable desktop power-cycling, change the value of POWERON_DESKTOPS to 1.
Enable Security Server Support
Follow these steps to enable security server support:
1
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
3
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4
Change the value of USE_SECURITY_SERVER to 1 and set SECURITY_SERVER_IP to the IP address of the
security server:
USE_SECURITY_SERVER=1
SECURITY_SERVER_IP=xx.xx.xx
(where xx.xx.xx.xx is the IP address of the security server).
5
6
Restart vdiappd:
NOTE To subsequently disable the security server, change the value of USE_SECURITY_SERVER to 0.
Enable Horizon Support
Before enabling Horizon support in View Planner, you should have a working Horizon gateway setup. Follow
the Horizon Workspace guide for more details.
Once you have a working Horizon gateway setup, follow these steps to enable Horizon connections:
1
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
3
4
Change the value of HORIZON_MODE to 1, update the value of HORIZON_URL to the horizon gateway, and
then set the value of HORIZON_PROTOCOL to the browser you want to test (HZ_CHROME for Google Chrome
browser, HZ_FIREFOX for Firefox browser, and HZ_IE for Internet Explorer).
For example:
HORIZON_MODE=1
HORIZON_URL=https://hz-connector.view50.org/
HORIZON_PROTOCOL=HZ_CHROME
5
6
Restart vdiappd:
Enable Blast Protocol Support
Before enabling Blast Protocol support in View Planner, you should have installed the Blast agent in the
desktop virtual machines and configured the pool settings to allow HTML access.
NOTE AppBlast is supported in View Planner only when View Planner is run in Passive mode.
Once those tasks are completed, follow these steps to enable Blast connections:
1
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
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3
4
Change the value of BLAST_MODE to 1, then set the value of BLAST_PROTOCOL to the browser you want to
test (Google Chrome is currently the only browser supported, so this should be set to BLAST_CHROME).
For example:
BLAST_MODE=1
BLAST_PROTOCOL=BLAST_CHROME
5
6
Restart vdiappd:
Configure View Planner to Use a Dummy Active Directory Agent
If you are not able to run the View Planner agent in the Active Directory server (as described in “Configure
Your Active Directory Server System” on page 44), View Planner allows you to use a dummy AD agent and
still do passive and remote View Planner runs.
To use the dummy agent, follow these steps:
1
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
3
4
Change the value of USE_DUMMY_AD to 1 and set the NETBIOS_DOMAIN_NAME field to your NETBIOS
domain name.
For example:
USE_DUMMY_AD=1
NETBIOS_DOMAIN_NAME=NETBIOS-domain-name
(where NETBIOS-domain-name is the name of your NETBIOS domain).
5
6
Restart vdiappd:
7
Once the above steps are complete, you must manually create the users on the AD server. The AD agent
package includes a PowerShell script (CreateUsers.ps1) for this purpose. Use this script to create the
AD group and the number of users you need for the run (run CreateUsers.ps1 -h for help).
You should then use this AD group name when creating run profiles in the View Planner web UI.
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Configure View Planner to Use VMs From All Datacenters
To configure View Planner to use virtual machines from all datacenters registered with the vCenter server,
follow these steps:
1
Login: root
Password: vmware
2
3
4
Change the value of USE_VMS_FROM_ALL_DATACENTERS to 1:
USE_VMS_FROM_ALL_DATACENTERS=1
5
6
Restart vdiappd:
NOTE Once this change is made, the View Planner controller appliance will ignore any entry in the
Datacenter: field of its vCenter Information pane, and will instead use virtual machines from all datacenters
registered with the vCenter server.
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Use vCenter to Provision Desktop Virtual Machines
If you will be using the Microsoft RDP display protocol (as opposed to the View RDP or View PCoIP display
protocols), you don’t need to use View to provision the desktop virtual machines, as described in “Use View
to Provision a Pool of Desktop Linked Clones” on page 56. In this use case you can, if desired, instead use
vCenter, as described in this section.
NOTE Use of View Planner as a benchmark requires the use of the View PCoIP display protocol. View PCoIP,
in turn, requires the desktop virtual machines to be managed by View. Such virtual machines should be
created with View, as described in “Use View to Provision a Pool of Desktop Linked Clones” on page 56.
Use vCenter to provision the desktop virtual machines by following the steps below.
1
Still logged into the View Planner controller appliance web interface, click the Provision tab.
2
In the Provision VM's using vCenter pane, within the VM name prefix: field, enter a prefix to use for the
VM names.
3
In the Parent-VM Name: field, enter the name of the template to clone for the run.
This is the name shown in the vSphere Client for the GoldenDesktop virtual machine.
NOTE Although we use these virtual machines as templates from which to clone other virtual machines,
these are not traditional templates as that term is used in vCenter and should not be converted to vCenter
templates.
4
In the Number of VMs: field, enter the number of virtual machines to provision for the run.
NOTE Depending on the number of virtual machines you provision on each host, some configurations
might require an increase in the number of ports in one or more vSwitches on one or more ESX/ESXi hosts.
5
Create a customization specification, as described in Appendix C, “Create a Customization
Specification,” on page 107, then, in the Customization Spec Name: field, enter the name you gave to the
customization specification.
6
In the Use Linked Clones checkbox, leave the check to use linked clones.
7
In Select Host/Cluster Configuration: choose the radio button for either Host Range, Host List, or
Cluster List.
For Host Range:
a
In the Host Name Prefix: field, enter the prefix used for the host names.
For example, if your first host is host1.domainmame.com, you would enter host here.
b
In the Host Domain: field, enter the name of the domain in which your hosts reside.
For example, if your first host is host1.domainmame.com, you would enter domainname.com here.
c
In the Host Range Start: field, enter the numeric portion of the lowest-numbered host.
For example, if your first host is host1.domainmame.com, you would enter 1 here.
d
In the Host Range End: field, enter the numeric portion of the highest-numbered host.
For example, if your last host is host100.domainmame.com, you would enter 100 here.
For Host List or Cluster List, select the hosts or clusters to use from the provided list.
NOTE To select multiple hosts for Host List or multiple clusters for Cluster List, hold down the <Ctrl>
key and left click the mouse on each desired entity.
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In the MaxVMsPerHost: field, enter the maximum number of virtual machines to create per ESX host.
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9
Click the Provision button.
NOTE There may be a significant delay as View Planner provisions the virtual machines. This delay is
increased when provisioning a large number of systems, and may be more noticeable when provisioning
Windows 7 virtual machines. Provisioning status can be monitored through the vSphere Client, where
status messages are displayed.
10
Once provisioning is complete (indicated by a pop-up window saying Provisioning with vCenter was
successful.), proceed to Chapter 2, “View Planner Execution,” on page 65.
NOTE After the Provisioning with vCenter was successful! message appears, you should allow time for
vCenter to sysprep and power-on the virtual machines before you start a run. In some cases this can take
a substantial amount of time; for very large deployments this might take ten hours or more.
One indicator of completion is a significant and sustained drop in your ESX hosts’ CPU usage; thus when
the CPU usage drops below 20% on all your hosts and remains flat for at least 5 minutes, you can assume
that this process has completed.
Use the View Planner Command-Line Interface
For information about the View Planner CLI, see VMware View Planner Command Line Interface, included in the
View Planner documents download package.
Use ThinApp with View Planner
For information about using ThinApp with View Planner, see ThinApp Configuration Guide for VMware View
Planner.
NOTE ThinApp support is in technology preview status for View Planner 3.5.
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Audio-Video Benchmark (AVBench)
Audio-Video Benchmark (AVBench), available only when running View Planner in flexible mode, is a
benchmark for measurement of audio fidelity and audio to video synchronization (aka “lip sync”)
performance of a VDI deployment. AVBench is in tech preview in View Planner 3.5. In VDI deployments,
consolidation ratios are a key concern, and directly impact the achievable cost savings. AVBench can be used
to assess the impact of consolidation on user experience of applications involving audio and video processing
of a VDI deployment.
More detailed information about AVBench will be included in a subsequent release of this document.
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Mouse Drag and Scroll Benchmark (UEBench)
The Mouse Drag and Scroll Benchmark (UEBench, short for User Experience Benchmark) is an application —
in tech preview for View Planner 3.5 — that measures the interactivity of dragging a window and of scrolling
the contents of a window. For backward compatibility, UEBench is not run in benchmark mode, but can be
chosen to be part of a run in flexible mode.
UEBench drags a window, or scrolls an image within a window, and uses proprietary technology to measure
the response to user actions. The application records the timestamp and the position of each frame as the
window’s position or content changes, then calculates the following three metrics:

FPS (Frames Per Second); this measures the average number of frames displayed per second.

Temporal smoothness; this measures the difference between successive timestamps in “segments” of
movement or scrolling and calculates the average of the coefficients of variation (i.e., the standard
variation divided by the mean).

Spatial smoothness; this is similar to temporal smoothness, but with the timestamp differences replaced
by the distance between successive positions, measured in pixels (in the case of movement) or page
positions (in the case of scrolling).
Any FPS result between 24 and 30 is considered excellent. Depending on the requirements and expectations
of a given environment, numbers over 10 FPS are typically acceptable. As a consequence of the definition of
pages in the scrolling part of the application, FPS measurements for window dragging will generally be higher
than those for scrolling.
The temporal smoothness and spatial smoothness metrics are numbers between 0 and 1. The theoretical best
is 0.0; in practice values below 0.5 are considered good.
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Upgrading from View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1 to View Planner 3.5
There is no automated upgrade path from View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1 to View Planner 3.5; you must
replace the View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1 controller appliance with the View Planner 3.5 controller
appliance. You can save time, however, by reusing the desktop and client template virtual machines created
for View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1, as described in this section.
To upgrade a View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1 installation to View Planner 3.5, follow the standard installation
instructions detailed in “View Planner Setup and Provisioning” on page 37, with the following modifications:
1
When you are asked to create the desktop template virtual machine in “Create and Prepare the Desktop
Template Virtual Machine” on page 42, instead reuse the desktop template virtual machine from View
Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1, but reinstall the View Planner agent software to bring the template up to
version 3.5, as detailed in “Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software” on page 93.
2
When you are asked to install the View Planner agent in the Active Directory server in “Install the View
Planner Agent in the Active Directory Server” on page 44, follow the instructions as if installing the View
Planner agent for the first time. This will bring the View Planner agent in the Active Directory server up
to version 3.5.
3
When you are asked to create the client template virtual machine in “Create the Client Template Virtual
Machine” on page 45, instead reuse the client template virtual machine from View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or
3.0.1.1, but reinstall the View Planner agent software to bring the template up to version 3.5, as detailed
in “Download and Install the View Planner Agent Software” on page 105.
4
When you are asked to deploy a VMware View system in “Deploy VMware View” on page 48 you can
use the View system you deployed for View Planner 3.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.1.1.
NOTE You must still perform all the steps in “Configure View” on page 48, including customizing View
Planner for your View installation and installing the View Planner agent (in this case, version 3.5) in the
View Server.
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E
Using Custom Applications in View
Planner
E
As described in the “Introduction” on page 15, View Planner includes a selection of applications to run in the
workload. These applications constitute a representative workload mix in a majority of desktop deployments.
Some users, however, might have a few specialized applications (what we call “Custom Applications”) that
are important and widely used in their VDI deployment. View Planner provides a mechanism to validate these
applications at scale, along with the standard applications that are already built into View Planner.
In this Appendix we explain how to write scripts that can integrate with View Planner and generate a
workload based on custom applications.
Automating Custom Applications
There are three main ways in which custom applications can be automated. Each method is described in a
subsection below.
Command-Line-Based Automation
If the application supports command line operations, then it is very easy to automate it by simply invoking
the commands from the DOS command shell or Windows PowerShell.
GUI-Based Automation
This involves interacting with the application just the way a real user would, by clicking window controls, by
typing text into boxes, by following a series of interactive steps (like in a wizard), and so on. To do this, the
automation script must be able to recognize and interact with the various controls on the screen either by
having a direct reference to those controls (Click “Button1”, Type into “Textbox2”, etc), or by knowing their
screen co-ordinates (Click <100,200>).
The User Interfaces of Windows applications are written using a variety of GUI frameworks. Windows
applications written by Microsoft extensively use the Win32 API in order to implement windows, buttons, text
boxes and other GUI elements. Windows applications written by third party vendors may or may not use the
native Win32 API directly to implement the GUI, and may use alternative frameworks. Popular examples are
the Java based SWT used by the Eclipse IDE, or the ActionScript based Adobe Flash.
Automating applications that have a Win32 API based GUI is relatively straightforward with the AutoIT
scripting language. Automating applications that use alternative frameworks for the GUI is not
straightforward and needs tools other than AutoIT.
API-Based Automation
This involves interacting with the application by invoking its APIs in order to perform some actions.
Microsoft's COM API is a good example of this model. All Microsoft Office applications export a COM
interface. Using the COM API, it is possible to do almost everything that a user can do using the GUI. API
based automation is chosen over GUI based automation when the GUI elements are very complicated and
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cannot be accessed directly. E.g., in Microsoft Outlook, it is very difficult to click on an individual mail item
using direct GUI controls, let alone get information about that mail item like sender, etc. On the other hand the
Outlook COM API provides a rich interface which lets you locate and open a mail item, get information about
sender, receiver, attachments, etc.
The current View Planner custom applications framework only covers automation of applications that
support command line operations, have a Win32 API based GUI, or export a COM interface. Automating other
UI frameworks or APIs has not been tested.
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Appendix E Using Custom Applications in View Planner
Enabling Custom Applications
Please refer to the instructions to configure View Planner, beginning with Chapter 1, “View Planner Setup and
Provisioning,” on page 37. Before you start writing your custom application scripts, you must follow all the
instructions and run at least one iteration of the View Planner workload (local or remote mode) with all
standard applications enabled. This ensures that all the workload executables and configuration files are in
place. Once you are done, follow these steps carefully in order to get your custom application script working.
You will be doing almost all of these steps on the desktop template virtual machine.
Download and Install AutoIT on the Desktop Template Virtual Machine
You can download AutoIT for free from the following location:
http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/downloads.shtml
Determine the Names of your Custom Applications
View Planner will need a name for each of your custom applications. E.g. if want to use the Notepad and
Calculator applications, you can choose “NOTEPAD” and “CALC”.
Edit the Configuration File
You will find the configuration file on the data disk of the desktop template virtual machine (typically in either
D:\golden or E:\golden). The name of the configuration file is config.txt. It should look like this:
; View Planner configuration file
;--------------------------------
; DONT TOUCH THIS PART
;--------------------FIREFOX_OPS = OPEN,CLOSE
EXCEL_SORT_OPS = OPEN,COMPUTE,SAVE,CLOSE
WORD_OPS = OPEN,MODIFY,SAVE,CLOSE
ACROBAT_OPS = OPEN,BROWSE,CLOSE
IE_APACHEDOC_OPS = OPEN,BROWSE,CLOSE
PPT_OPS = OPEN,RUNSLIDESHOW,MODIFYSLIDES,APPENDSLIDES,SAVEAS,CLOSE
OUTLOOK_OPS = OPEN,READ,RESTORE,CLOSE
7ZIP_OPS = COMPRESS
EXCEL_FORMULA_OPS = OPEN,COMPUTE,SAVE,CLOSE
VIDEO_OPS = OPEN,PLAY,CLOSE
ECLIPSE_OPS = OPEN,CLOSE
IE_WEBALBUM_OPS = OPEN,BROWSE,CLOSE
AVBENCH_OPS = Open,Play,Close
UEBENCH_OPS = MOVE488,MOVE520,SCROLL512
;--------------------ADGroup = PWRUSR
AD Group Percent = 100
THINKTIME = 20
ITERATIONS = 1
VIDEO = SLOW
;LIST OF APPLICATIONS
;--------------------APP_LIST = WORD,EXCEL_SORT,EXCEL_FORMULA,ACROBAT,IE_APACHEDOC,7ZIP,PPT,FIREFOX,OUTLOOK,
IE_WEBALBUM,VIDEO,UEBENCH,AVBENCH
; CUSTOM APPS LIST STARTS HERE
;----------------------------;CUSTOMAPP_SCRIPT_PATH = C:
;NOTEPAD_OPS = OPEN,CLOSE
;CALC_OPS = OPEN,CLOSE
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Modify the APP_LIST line, and add the names of your custom applications at the end of the line, with no
spaces. For example:
APP_LIST = WORD,EXCEL_SORT,EXCEL_FORMULA,ACROBAT,IE_APACHEDOC,7ZIP,PPT,FIREFOX,OUTLOOK,
IE_WEBALBUM,VIDEO,NOTEPAD,CALC

Set the CUSTOMAPP_SCRIPT_PATH to the disk location on the desktop template virtual machine where
your custom AutoIT scripts will reside. For example:
CUSTOMAPP_SCRIPT_PATH = C:\VIEWPLANNER_CUSTOM_SCRIPTS

Add the operations that your custom application scripts will perform, in the exact order in which they
will be performed.
To fit your custom application into the View Planner workload, conceptualize your application as
performing a series of operations, from launch to close. For example, if you are planning to write a
Notepad script, you might have Open, Type, Copy, Paste, Save, and Close. List these operations after the
CUSTOMAPP_SCRIPT_PATH line. For example:
NOTEPAD_OPS = OPEN,TYPE,COPY,PASTE,SAVE,CLOSE
Write Your Custom AutoIT Script
Starting with the AutoIT script template located in the appendix of this document, you will need to make the
following changes in order to get your custom application working.

Copy the script template to the location mentioned in the configuration file as
CUSTOMAPP_SCRIPT_PATH. The name of the file should be the same as the name of the application.
E.g. if you named your application 'NOTEPAD' in the configuration file, then your custom application
should be 'notepad.au3'.

Edit your custom application script preferably with the SciTE Script Editor that came with the AutoIT
installation.

Edit the information between the 'Begin customization' and 'End customization' lines of the custom
application script. For example, if you have chosen 'NOTEPAD' as your custom application, and 'Open',
'Type', 'Save' and 'Close' as the operations, your notepad section will look like this.
$appName = "notepad"
$numOps = 4
$Op1 = "open"
$Op2 = "type"
$Op3 = "save"
$Op4 = "close"
These operation names should match the ones you entered in the configuration file.

For each operation that you have defined, code the function to implement that operation. The function
name should be of the format “appName_opName”. The functions must be called with no arguments.
Edit the entire section named “Your custom functions here” to write this code. E.g., in the previous bullet
point, the functions that you will have to write are as follows:
Func
Func
Func
Func

notepad_open()
notepad_type()
notepad_save()
notepad_close()
Modify the 'Select Case' statement in the main while loop, just after the “End customization” line. Make
sure you have as many Case statements as the number of operations, plus one Else statement at the end.
E.g., if you have four operations, then your main while loop will look like this:
While 1
; Wait to get a command from the main workload
$nextCommand = GetCommand()
Select
Case IsCommand($Op1)
Call($appName & "_" & $Op1)
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EndSelect
Wend

Timing of individual operations is done by the main workload. Your custom application can signal to the
main workload whether an operation passed or failed. Use the 'SendResult()' call to communicate with
the main workload. If your operation passed, use 'SendResult(“ok”)'. If your operation failed, use
'SendResult(“-1”)'. The main workload will retry failed operations for a total of three times and will
discontinue the application if there are three errors in a row. This means that you should design your
operations such that they are idempotent. Every time an operation fails, you should try to restore the state
of the application so that the operation can be retried in a clean manner.

Do not modify any other sections of the code as they are important for initializing the communication
sockets and sending results to the main workload.
Test Your Custom AutoIT Script
Once you are done modifying the configuration file and writing your custom AutoIT script, you can test it by
invoking the following command inside a DOS command shell:
'C:\viewplanner.exe customapp'
This will start the View Planner workload in local mode. View Planner will store the results in a file called
log_desktopName.txt (where desktopName is the name of the provisioned desktop) on the data disk
(typically E:\golden). If the script is correct, this file will contain the timing information for your custom
applications and all of their operations.
NOTE View Planner will try to upload this file (and another log file) to the results folder in the View Planner
appliance. At this point you are only making sure your custom AutoIT script is correct, so don't worry if the
upload is not successful.
Register Your Custom Applications In the View Planner Controller Database
You must register your custom applications in the View Planner controller database in order to make your
custom applications appear in the workload and in the run profiles of the View Planner user interface so that
you can select them before performing a run.
On the desktop template virtual machine, run the following command after you have tested your custom
application(s):
'python c:\server.pyc Update'
On the View Planner appliance, run the following command:
'service vdiappd restart'
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Design Considerations
The following are some considerations while designing your custom application scripts.
Lifecycle
Think of the complete lifecycle that the application will go through during each iteration. The state of the
application should be the same at the beginning of each iteration. E.g. make sure that there are no processes
that are remaining even after closing the application, and if your application deals with a document make sure
you save a separate copy when you modify the document instead of saving it to the original. If your
application involves installing and uninstalling of components, make sure you uninstall all components before
an iteration starts. These things ensure correctness and repeatability.
Idempotent Operations
As mentioned earlier, each operation should be idempotent so that View Planner can retry the operation in
case it fails. Applications might behave well when tested on a few virtual machines, but might produce
transient errors when tested in a large environment with thousands of desktops, so it is necessary to handle
errors and restore to a clean state.
Timing
There are two important things to keep in mind regarding timing.

You might have to introduce sleeps in an operation to avoid race conditions. E.g. you might realize that
clicking on a control immediately after a window appears might fail, but the same operation passes if you
introduce a sleep of one or two seconds. Such sleeps will be counted as part of the entire timing of the
operation, and the user will have to factor them in the end result.

Timing very short running operations can lead to inconsistent timing. If an operation takes less than 100
milliseconds to complete, there might be a high variability each time the operation runs. If possible, try to
batch a group of short running operations so that the aggregate timing is more reliable and repeatable.
Initialization and Corner Cases
For some applications, you might have to set some registry entries before or during a run, so that unexpected
pop-up windows or operations do not interfere with the script. E.g. an application like Adobe Reader or
Mozilla Firefox might bring up software update screens when you don’t expect them.
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Additional Resources
The following resources might be helpful in configuring custom applications in View Planner:
AutoIT documentation:
http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/
Simple UI automation tutorials:
http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/tutorials/notepad/notepad.htm
http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/tutorials/winzip/winzip.htm
Example scripts for COM based automation:
http://www.autoitscript.com/forum/forum/9-example-scripts/
VMware also supplies an example script, notepad.au3, in the C:\ directory of each desktop virtual machine
(installed along with the View Planner agent software package).
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Custom Application Template AutoIT Code
;----Begin Init (DO NOT CHANGE)-------Global $clientsocket ;The socket used to communicate with the View Planner workload
Global $nextCommand
Init() ;The initialization routine
;----End Init--------------
;---Begin customization--; A simple example.
Change it to fit your situation.
$appName = "notepad"
$numOps = 2
$Op1 = "open"
$Op2 = "close"
While 1
; Wait to get a command from the main workload
$nextCommand = GetCommand()
Select
EndSelect
Sleep(1000)
WEnd
;---Your custom functions here--Func notepad_open()
Opt("WinTitleMatchMode", 2)
Run("C:\windows\notepad.exe")
If Not WinWait("Untitled - Notepad", "", 60) Then
SendResult("-1")
Else
SendResult("ok")
EndIf
EndFunc
Func notepad_close()
Opt("WinTitleMatchMode", 2)
WinClose("Untitled - Notepad")
If Not WinWaitClose("Untitled - Notepad", "", 60) Then
SendResult("-1")
Else
SendResult("ok")
EndIf
EndFunc
;---End customization---
;----- Begin Support function (DO NOT CHANGE)-------Func Init()
Sleep(5000)
TCPStartup()
Opt("TCPTimeout",10000000)
$elapsed = 0
$port = 65432
If $cmdLine[0] > 0 Then
$port = Int($cmdline[1])
EndIf
MsgBox(0, "connecting to port...", $port, 2)
While 1
$clientsocket = TCPConnect("127.0.0.1", $port)
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If $clientsocket <= 0 Then
Sleep(3000)
$elapsed += 3000
If $elapsed == 120000 Then
MsgBox(0, "CUSTOMAPP-ERROR", "Could not connect to the main workload in 2 minutes.")
Exit
EndIf
Else
return
EndIf
WEnd
EndFunc
Func GetCommand()
$msg = TCPRecv($clientsocket, 2048)
;MsgBox(0, "Message: ", "KK" & $msg & "AA")
If @error Then
MsgBox(0, $appName & "-ERROR", "Could not listen on socket. Make sure the main workload is
running.")
Exit
EndIf
If $msg <> "" or $msg <> "0" Then
Return $msg
EndIf
EndFunc
Func SendResult($str)
If Not TCPSend($clientsocket, $str) Then
MsgBox(0, $appName & "-ERROR", "Could not send message to main workload.")
Exit
EndIf
EndFunc
Func IsCommand($op)
$same = Not StringCompare($nextCommand, $op)
Return $same
EndFunc
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F
Troubleshooting
F
This appendix provides information about troubleshooting a View Planner installation.
General Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting the View Planner Controller Appliance
Throughout the troubleshooting process the View Planner controller appliance writes status details about the
current state to a log file (/root/ViewPlanner/viewplanner.log).
By monitoring this file you can detect issues that arise during the process of registering virtual machines.
Beginning with the IP address of a problem virtual machine obtained from this log file, you can use vCenter
to access the virtual machine, then potentially resolve the issue that’s keeping the machine from registering. If
done quickly, this can allow a problem virtual machine to be used in the current run.
More details about viewplanner.log entries are included in the sections below that address troubleshooting
during specific stages of View Planner use.
Troubleshooting the Client, Desktop, View and AD Virtual Machines
The View Planner agents in the client virtual machine, desktop virtual machines, View Server host, and Active
Directory host are run as Windows services. Their logging is done to the Windows Event Viewer (Start >
Programs > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer) and to the C:\viewplanner-*.txt files.
Monitoring these locations can help troubleshoot problems with these systems.
Troubleshoot Setup and Provisioning
This section provides information about troubleshooting during Setup and Provisioning.
Verify that View Planner Agent Services are Running in the View and AD Servers
If you suspect that the View Planner agent services are not running in the View server or the Active Directory
server, you can check as follows:
1
From the Start menu, select Run.
2
In the Run window, type services.msc then click OK.
3
In the Services window, within the right pane, scroll to VMware View Planner Agent Service and
confirm that it is running (that is, its status is Started).
If it is not running, check the Windows Event Viewer for errors.
All messages from the agent services are logged in the C:\viewplanner-*.log file. You can check this file for
service-related information during View Planner runs.
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Desktop or Client Virtual Machine Connectivity Issues
If you observe connectivity issues between a desktop or client virtual machine and the network, check the IP
address of the virtual machine. If the IP address is 169.xxx.xxx.xxx, the issue might be related to time
synchronization. Make sure all the servers and hosts in your View Planner setup are using the same time
source. This list includes:

The ESX system on which the View Planner controller appliance will run.

The ESX systems on which the client and desktop virtual machines will run.

The vCenter server host operating system.

The View server host operating system.

The Active Directory server host operating system.
Troubleshoot Provisioning Using View
When using View Server for virtual machine provisioning you can use View to verify that all the virtual
machines are ready before starting the run.
To do this, follow these steps:
1
Using a web browser, connect to the View Server using the following URL:
https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/admin
Where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the View Server host.
2
Log in to the View Server web interface as administrator.
3
At the left portion of the window, look for the number of Problem Desktops.
4
If this number is not 0, click on it to display a list of virtual machines that might need attention.
The following Status entries indicate problems:

Error (click the dots to the right of the word Error to learn more)

Agent unreachable

Waiting for agent

Disconnected
The following Status entries are normal:

Connected

Provisioned

Available
View Pool Creation Fails

Try a new name for the pool.

If using a cluster, make sure it contains no more than eight hosts.

Recheck the snapshot path.
Connecting to a View Desktop using PCoIP Fails with a Black Screen
In some cases, if certain operations are performed out of order, you might observe a virtual machine failure
that causes one of the following symptoms:
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Connecting to a View Desktop using PCoIP fails with a black screen

You cannot resize the screen

You can resize the screen down, but not up
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Appendix F Troubleshooting

Screen resizing responds very slowly or fails after several resize attempts

You cannot switch between full-screen and windowed
If you observe any of these symptoms, one of the following KB articles might help:
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Troubleshoot the Run Test Stage
This section provides information about troubleshooting during the Run Test stage.
The View Planner controller appliance includes a number of measures designed to overcome problems during
View Planner runs. One of these measures comes into play during startup.
After initiating the startup process for the number of virtual machines requested for a run, the appliance starts
a countdown timer (duration based on number of users) and waits for the View Planner agent in each virtual
machine to register that machine as ready. Each time a machine registers, the countdown timer is reset.
If the requested number of virtual machines have not registered as available when the timer reaches zero, the
controller appliance resets the virtual machines that have not yet registered, and begins the countdown
process again. This loop is repeated until either the requested number of virtual machines have registered or
the user cancels the run.
NOTE During this process, you can monitor the viewplanner.log file for the words Fixing the VM and
manually intervene to fix the problem.
Once all the virtual machines have registered as ready, the controller appliance queries the vCenter Server for
the IP addresses of all the virtual machines in order to build a map of names to IP addresses. If the vCenter
Server does not return the IP addresses of all the virtual machines in the run, the controller appliance waits
two minutes and repeats the query. The controller appliance executes this two-minute loop five times.
NOTE During this process, you can monitor the viewplanner.log file for the words Waiting till all
the IP addresses have been resolved and manually intervene to fix the problem.
If, after the fifth try (for a total of ten minutes), the vCenter Server still has not returned the IP addresses of all
the virtual machines, the controller appliance drops from the run those virtual machines for which the vCenter
Server has not yet supplied an IP address.
The controller appliance then starts the run with either the requested number of virtual machines (if the
vCenter Server provided all the IP addresses on the initial request or during one of the subsequent five tries)
or with fewer than the requested number of virtual machines (if, after five tries, the vCenter Server still had
not supplied all the IP addresses requested).
During or after this error recovery process you can make use of tools on the controller appliance to determine
which virtual machines are failing to register and manually intervene, if desired. Such manual intervention
might include addressing pop-up windows, networking issues, or other unexpected occurrences.
By monitoring the status during this process you also have the opportunity to cancel a run if it is about to
proceed with fewer virtual machines than you desire.
When the run is complete, the virtual machines involved in the run upload their results to the controller
appliance. Here, also, tools on the appliance can help troubleshoot errors.
The following sections describe these tools.
Monitor the viewplanner.log File During the Run Test Stage
After the Run Test button has been pressed, the viewplanner.log file (described in “Troubleshooting the
View Planner Controller Appliance” on page 131) can help diagnose problems. During the Run Test stage, you
can watch for the following:
The words Fixing the VM indicate that at least one virtual machine has not yet registered as ready and the
controller appliance has reset that machine and is waiting for it to register. Manual intervention at this point
might help fix the problem.
The words Waiting till all the IP addresses have been resolved indicate that at least one virtual
machine is not reporting its IP address to the vCenter Server. This can be due to problems with the VMware
Tools installation on that virtual machine. Again, manual intervention at this point might help fix the problem.
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The viewplanner.log file also contains a list of virtual machines that have either not yet connected or not yet
uploaded their results to the View Planner controller appliance.
NOTE An easy way to monitor the viewplanner.log file is to use the Linux tail command:
tail -f /root/ViewPlanner/viewplanner.log
NOTE To dump the intermediate connection/upload status, run python cli.py from the View Planner
appliance directory (/root/ViewPlanner); the stats will be dumped in viewplanner.log.
Workload Fails in Desktop Virtual Machine
If none of the desktop virtual machines make any progress after a substantial amount of time, inspect the .vmx
file for the template virtual machine used for that run, making sure it contains the line:
monitor_control.pseudo_perfctr = “1”
If the line is missing, add it to the .vmx file.
Error Log Mentions “Stale Objects” for View or Active Directory
An entry in the viewplanner.log file indicating a stale object for either the View Server or the Active
Directory Server is likely due to the View Planner agent in the View Server or the Active Directory Server
having stopped or been restarted. These problems can be corrected as follows:
1
On the View Server host system or the Active Directory Server host system (as appropriate for the error
message), verify that the View Planner agent is still running. This will be indicated by a command
window running python server.pyc with no error message.
2
If the agent is running but has output an error message, stop it with <Ctrl><C>.
3
If the agent is not running, or if you’ve stopped it, start it by running python server.pyc in a command
window.
4
Once the agent is running in both the View Server and the Active Directory Server, return to the View
Planner controller appliance and restart the appliance service with the following command:
$ service vdiappd restart
View Planner Ceases to Make Progress
If the View Planner appliance stops making progress on a task (i.e., provisioning, performing a run), look in
the viewplanner.log file for a block of text that looks like:
2010-07-28 18:05:26,649 INFO Getting all the hosts from VC
Exception in thread Thread-100:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.6/threading.py", line 522, in __bootstrap_inner
self.run()
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/web_interface.py", line 110, in run
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/view_interface.py", line 146, in getVCResources
File "/root/ViewPlanner/vc_interface.py", line 104, in getVCResources
self.all_hosts = self.getAllHosts()
File "/root/ViewPlanner/vc_interface.py", line 1515, in getAllHosts
hosts = self.vcClient.GetHosts()
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/pyVmomi/vim/__init__.py", line 610, in GetHosts
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/pyVmomi/vim/__init__.py", line 366, in GetDatacenters
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/pyVmomi/vim/__init__.py", line 356, in GetRootFolder
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 251, in __call__
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 125, in _InvokeMethod
File "/tmp/ViewPlanner/pyVmomi/SoapAdapter.py", line 455, in InvokeMethod
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.6/httplib.py", line 950, in getresponse
response.begin()
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.6/httplib.py", line 390, in begin
version, status, reason = self._read_status()
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.6/httplib.py", line 354, in _read_status
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raise BadStatusLine(line)
BadStatusLine
If you see such text, restart the appliance service on the controller appliance by running the following
command:
service vdiappd restart
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Miscellaneous Tips

It can be useful to capture esxtop output from all the ESX/ESXi hosts used in a View Planner run. This can
be accomplished using the following command:
esxtop -a -b -n <iterations> -d <delay> >> <filename>
Where <iterations> is the number of esxtop iterations (preferably enough to last the entire expected
length of the View Planner run), <delay> is the delay between esxtop snapshots, and <filename> is the
filename for the esxtop output.
Reasonable values might be:
esxtop -a -b -n 650 -d 30 >> DesktopHost1-esxtop.txt
(This example would capture 650 snapshots at 30-second intervals and appending them to a file named
DesktopHost1-esxtop.txt.)
NOTE In the esxtop context, iterations refers to the number of esxtop snapshot to be taken. This is not
the number of View Planner iterations.

In order to know when a run is having problems, it is useful to know approximately how long the run
should take. You can estimate this as follows:
If you are using the full set of View Planner applications, and have configured a 20-second think time,
each iteration should take roughly one hour. If you multiply the number of iterations by this time then
add a buffer of about 5%, this gives you a reasonable window.
If this amount of time has elapsed and the run has not completed, you can suspect that something is
wrong and begin using the tools and techniques described above to investigate.

If you figure out an error and fix any minor issues, we recommend you restart the appliance service on
the controller appliance by running the following command:
Then resume the same process where you left off and see if the error reappears.

If the problem persists, send a screenshot of the View Planner web page and the viewplanner.log file to
[email protected].

To restart a new run from scratch, use the Stop Test button on the Run Test web page or manually
power-off the clones and delete them from the disk in vCenter, then restart the appliance service using the
command:
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