{"id":7371,"date":"2021-12-09T06:41:39","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T06:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/?p=7371"},"modified":"2024-11-05T06:30:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T06:30:41","slug":"the-evolution-of-citrix-machine-creation-services-with-microsoft-azure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/insights\/geek-speak\/cloud-and-modern-data-center\/the-evolution-of-citrix-machine-creation-services-with-microsoft-azure\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolution of Citrix Machine Creation Services with Microsoft Azure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this blog we are tracking the progress of Citrix MCS and Microsoft Azure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"885\" height=\"331\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/12\/james_kindon_blog_1_12092021_img_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/12\/james_kindon_blog_1_12092021_img_1.jpg 885w, https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/12\/james_kindon_blog_1_12092021_img_1-300x112.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/12\/james_kindon_blog_1_12092021_img_1-768x287.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a lot of constant improvement being executed by the MCS team at Citrix, the release cadence is impressive and the feature enhancements significant. I spend a lot of time in Microsoft Azure with Citrix Cloud with a lot of happy clients. I thought it would be worth to keep a rolling tally of new features with MCS and how it relates to Azure, so we don\u2019t lose sight of how much value add is provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I will do my best to maintain this list as and when features come out, as well as some commentary around their value where I can. It is important to be across the options when designing your delivery platform on Azure, many changes have a direct implication on the ongoing operational costs associated with running workloads on\/in Azure, as well as availability and global deployment options. Looking at what we have now, vs what was available 12 months ago, many designs and deployments would look remarkably different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<style>\n.box-note {\n    padding: 0.9375rem 0.9375rem 0.9375rem 0.625rem;\n    margin: 1.25rem 1.25rem 1.25rem 0.3125rem;\n    border: 1px solid #eee;\n    border-left-width: 0.3125rem;\n    border-radius: 0.3125rem 0.1875rem 0.1875rem 0.3125rem;\n}\n.box-note {\n    background-color: #eee;\n    border-left-color: #F35905;\n}\ncode {\ncolor: #000;\nfont-weight: bold;\n}\n\n<\/style>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>NOVEMBER 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> Support for displaying Azure Marketplace purchase plan information<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;When creating a machine catalogue, you can now view purchase plan information for master images originated from Azure Marketplace images<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>OCTOBER 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#preserving-a-provisioned-virtual-machine-when-power-cycling\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Improve performance by preserving a provisioned VM when power cycling<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Citrix added a setting&nbsp;<code>Retain VMs across power cycles<\/code>&nbsp;to the Machine Catalog Setup &gt; Disk Settings page of the Full Configuration management interface. The setting lets you preserve a provisioned VM when power cycling in Azure environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be wary of cost implications associated with persistent OS disks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-manage.html#update-a-catalog\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Ability to update persistent MCS catalogues<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Citrix introduced the&nbsp;<code>Update Machines<\/code>&nbsp;option for persistent MCS catalogues in the Full Configuration management interface. The option lets customers manage the image or template the catalogue uses. When updating a persistent catalogue, consider the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Only machines you add to the catalogue later are created using the new image or template. We do not roll out the update to existing machines in the catalogue<\/em> This is significant given the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/support.citrix.com\/article\/CTX129205\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">previous method<\/a>&nbsp;wasn\u2019t easily understood for those not in bed with PowerShell<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#azure-dedicated-hosts\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Provision VMs on an Azure dedicated host<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Citrix added an option,&nbsp;<code>Use a host group<\/code>, to the Machine Catalogue Setup &gt; Master Image page of the Full Configuration management interface. The option lets clients specify which host group they want to use when provisioning VMs in Azure environments<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#workspace-environment-management-optional\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> Bind a machine catalogue to a Workspace Environment Management configuration set<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;A machine catalogue can now be bound to a Workspace Environment Management configuration set on creation. Customers can also choose to bind the catalogue after they create the catalogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst not specifically an MCS feature, it is an enhancement that MCS will consume, so it makes the list of goodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>SEPTEMBER 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-manage.html#adding-descriptions-to-an-image\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> Informative description for image updates<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u202fChange details associated with catalogue\u00a0updates can now be added via PowerShell using the\u202f<strong><code>masterImageNote<\/code><\/strong>\u202fattribute. This functionality is useful for administrators who want to add descriptive labels when updating an image used by a catalogue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hopefully this lands in the GUI shortly for general consumption&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#azure-vmware-solution-avs-integration\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Azure VMware Solution (AVS) integration<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service supports AVS, the Azure VMware Solution. Clients can leverage the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop service to use AVS for provisioning workloads in the same they would using vSphere in on-premises environments<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#azure-resource-groups\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Same resource group for multiple catalogues<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Clients can now use the same resource group for updating and creating catalogues in the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Service. This process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Applies to any resource group which contains one or more machine catalogs<\/li><li>Supports resource groups that are not created by Machine Creation Services<\/li><li>Creates the VM and associated resources<\/li><li>Deletes resources in the resource group when the VM or the catalogue is removed<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#retrieve-information-for-azure-vms-snapshots-os-disk-and-gallery-image-definition\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Retrieve information for Azure VMs, snapshots, OS disk, and gallery image definition<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0You can display information for an Azure VM, OS disk, snapshot and gallery image definition. This information is displayed for resources on the master image when a machine catalogue is assigned. Use this functionality to view and select either a Linux or Windows image<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#machine-identities\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Support for non-domain-joined catalogues<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Citrix added an identity type,\u00a0<code>Non-domain-joined<\/code>, to the Machine Catalogue Setup > Machine Identities page of the Full Configuration management interface. With this identity type, MCS can create machines that are not joined to any domain<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong>Support for using a machine profile when deploying MCS workloads in Azure<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;This option lets you specify which machine profile you want the image to inherit the configuration from when creating VMs in Azure environments. The image can inherit the following configurations from the selected machine profile:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Accelerated networking<\/li><li>Boot diagnostics<\/li><li>Host disk caching (OS and MCSIO disks)<\/li><li>Machine size (unless otherwise specified),<\/li><li>Tags placed on the VM<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is awesome. If you have needed to implement my\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jkindon.com\/2020\/11\/10\/enhancing-citrix-mcs-and-microsoft-azure-part-2-accelerated-networking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Accelerated Networking scripts<\/a>, then consider using this feature instead<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong>Support for Windows Server 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Requires minimum VDA 2106<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>AUGUST 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#storage-types\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Support for additional Azure storage types<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0You can now select different storage types for virtual machines in Azure environments using MCS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#enabling-mcs-storage-optimization-updates\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Support for selecting the storage type for write-back cache disks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0In the Full Configuration management interface, when creating an MCS catalogue, you can now select the storage type for the write-back cache disk. Available storage types include Premium SSD, Standard SSD, and Standard HDD<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>JUNE 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#access-images-from-azure-shared-image-gallery\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> Access Azure Shared Image Gallery images<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0When creating a machine catalogue, you can now access images from the Azure Shared Image Gallery on the Master Image screen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> Always use standard SSD for an identity disk to reduce cost in Azure environments<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Machine catalogues use the standard SSD storage type for identity disks. Azure standard SSDs are a cost-effective storage option optimised for workloads that need consistent performance at lower IOPS levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can read more about the benefits of this change\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jkindon.com\/2020\/10\/27\/enhancing-citrix-mcs-and-microsoft-azure-part-1-identity-disk-cost-optimization\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>\u00a0and utilise the provided scripts to convert existing deployments<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>MAY 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#provision-machines-into-specified-availability-zones\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> Studio supports selecting Azure Availability Zones<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Previously, PowerShell was the only choice to provision machines into a specific Availability Zone in Azure environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When using Studio to create a machine catalogue, you can now select one or more Availability Zones into which you want to provision machines. If no zones are specified, Machine Creation Services (MCS) lets Azure place the machines within the region. If more than one zone is specified, MCS randomly distributes the machines across them<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#azure-ephemeral-disk\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Azure ephemeral disk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service supports Azure ephemeral disk. An ephemeral disk allows you to repurpose the VM cache to store the OS disk for an Azure-enabled virtual machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ephemeral OS disks require that your provisioning scheme use managed disks and a Shared Image Gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#azure-throttling\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Improved performance for MCS managed VDAs on Azure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0This enhancement changes the default values for Absolute Simultaneous actions for the hosting connection to 500, and Maximum new actions per minute for the hosting connection to 2,000. No manual configuration tasks are required to take advantage of this enhancement<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>APRIL 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#machine-creation-service-mcs-storage-optimzation\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">MCS I\/O support for Azure VMs without temporary storage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0MCS I\/O now supports machine catalogue creation for VMs which do not have temporary disks or attached storage<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> Support for Azure Gen2 images<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0You can now provision a Gen2 VM catalogue by using either a Gen2 snapshot or a Gen 2 managed disk to improve boot time performance<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> Disabling table storage accounts<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Machine Creation Services (MCS) no longer creates table storage accounts for catalogues which use managed disks when provisioning VDAs on Azure<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> Eliminating locks in storage accounts<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0When creating a catalogue in Azure using a managed disk, a storage account is no longer created. Storage accounts created for existing catalogues remain unchanged. This change is applicable for managed disks only. For unmanaged disks, there is no change in the existing behaviour. Machine Creation Services (MCS) continues creating storage accounts and locks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> Use a client-managed encryption key to encrypt data on machines<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Studio adds a setting called Client-managed encryption key to the Machine Catalogue Setup > Disk Settings page. The setting lets you choose whether to encrypt data on the machines to be provisioned in the catalogue<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>MARCH 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/azure\/virtual-machines\/dedicated-hosts\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Azure dedicated hosts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Azure dedicated hosts allow you to provision virtual machines on hardware dedicated to a single customer. While using a dedicated host, Azure ensures your virtual machines would be the only machines running on that host. This provides more control and visibility to clients thereby ensuring they meet their regulatory or internal security requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A pre-configured Azure host group, in the region of the hosting unit, is required when using the HostGroupId parameter. Also, Azure auto-placement is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When using Azure dedicated hosts, selecting the\u00a0<strong>Azure Availability Zone<\/strong>\u00a0has no effect. The virtual machine is placed by the Azure auto-placement process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#azure-server-side-encryption\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Support for Azure server side encryption<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service supports client-managed encryption keys for Azure managed disks. With this support you can manage your organisational and compliance requirements by encrypting the managed disks of your machine catalogue using your own encryption key<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#provision-machines-into-specified-availability-zones\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Provision machines into specified availability zones on Azure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0You can now provision machines into a specific availability zone in Azure environments. With this functionality You can specify one or multiple Availability Zones on Azure. Machines are nominally equally distributed across all provided zones if more than one zone is provided the virtual machine and the corresponding disk are placed in the specified zone (or zones).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#azure-shared-image-gallery\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Azure Shared Image Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service supports Azure Shared Image Gallery as a published image repository for MCS provisioned machines in Azure. Administrators have the option of storing an image in the gallery to accelerate the creation and hydration of OS disks. This process imp.roves the boot and application launch times for non-persistent VMs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>FEBRUARY 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/azure\/virtual-machines\/generation-2\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Support for Azure Gen2 images<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0You can now provision managed disks using Gen2 VMs in Azure environments to improve boot time performance<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/#citrix-managed-azure\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Extended support for Citrix Managed Azure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Citrix Managed Azure is now available in the following Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service editions: Standard for Azure, Advanced, Premium and Workspace Premium Plus<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#create-a-machine-catalog-using-an-azure-resource-manager-master-image\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Support for placing master images in Azure Shared Image Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Studio now provides you an option to place master images in Azure Shared Image Gallery (SIG). SIG is a repository for managing and sharing images. It lets you make your images available throughout your organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Citrix recommend you store a master image in SIG when creating large non-persistent machine catalogues because doing this enables faster reset of VDA OS disks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#enabling-mcs-storage-optimization-updates\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Retain system disk for MCS machine catalogues in Azure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>&nbsp;Studio now lets you control whether to retain system disks for VDAs during power cycles. Ordinarily, the system disk is deleted on shutdown and recreated on start-up. This ensures the disk is always in a clean state however results in longer VM restart times. If system writes are redirected to the cache and written back to the cache disk, the system disk remains unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To avoid unnecessary disk recreation, use the Retain system disk during power cycles option, available on the Machine Catalogue Setup > Disk Settings page. Enabling the option reduces VM restart times but increases your storage costs. The option can be useful in scenarios where an environment contains workloads with sensitive restart times<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#enabling-mcs-storage-optimization-updates\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Studio now supports creating MCS machine catalogues with persistent write-back cache disk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detail:<\/strong>\u00a0Previously, PowerShell was your only choice to create a catalogue with a persistent write-back cache disk. You can now use Studio to control whether the write-back cache disk persists for the provisioned VMs in Azure when you are creating a catalogue. If disabled, the write-back cache disk is deleted during each power cycle to save storage costs, causing any data redirected to the disk to be lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To retain the data, enable the Use persistent write-back cache disk option, available on the Machine Catalogue Setup > Disk Settings page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>JANUARY 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#configure-shared-image-gallery\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Azure Shared Image Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Details:<\/strong>\u00a0Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service supports Azure Shared Image Gallery as a published image repository for MCS provisioned machines in Azure. Administrators have the option of storing an image in the gallery to accelerate the creation and hydration of OS disks from the master image. This process improves the boot and application launch times for non-persistent VMs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>DECEMBER 2020<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html#create-a-machine-catalog-using-an-azure-resource-manager-master-image\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Standard SSD disk type support for Azure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Details:<\/strong>\u00a0Studio now adds support for standard SSD disk type. Azure standard SSDs are a cost-effective storage option optimised for workloads that need consistent performance at lower IOPS levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>OCTOBER 2020<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/blog\/introducing-the-preview-of-direct-upload-to-azure-managed-disks\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Use direct upload for Azure managed disks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Details:<\/strong>\u00a0Direct upload eliminates the need to attach an empty managed disk to a virtual machine. Directly uploading to an Azure managed disk simplifies the workflow by enabling you to copy an on-premises VHD directly for use as a managed disk. Supported managed disks include Standard HDD, Standard SSD and Premium SSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/resource-location\/azure-resource-manager.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Single Resource Group in Azure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Details:<\/strong>\u00a0You can now create and use a single Azure resource group for updating and creating catalogues in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. This enhancement applies to both the full scope and narrow scope service principals. The previous limit of 240 VMs per 800 managed disks per Azure Resource Group has been removed. There is no longer a limit on the number of virtual machines, managed disks, snapshots, and images per Azure Resource Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>SEPTEMBER 2020<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> Support for a new machine type<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Details:<\/strong>\u00a0This release adds support for the NV v4 and the DA v4 series of AMD machines, when configuring Premium Disks for a machine catalogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #F37237; color: #F37237;\"><span>AUGUST 2020<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"box-note\"><strong>Feature:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.citrix.com\/en-us\/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops-service\/install-configure\/machine-catalogs-create.html#improve-boot-performance\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Improved boot performance for Azure system disks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Details:<\/strong>&nbsp;This release supports improved boot performance for Citrix Cloud implementations using Azure when MCSIO is enabled. With this support, you can retain the system disk. This provides the following advantages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>VMs and applications now boot and launch with performance like how the golden image is served<\/li><li>Reduction in API quota consumption, deleting and creating the system disk, and state transition delay caused when you delete a VM<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This blog was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/jkindon.com\/the-evolution-of-citrix-machine-creation-services-with-microsoft-azure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">jkindon.com<\/a> and reposted here with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a lot of constant improvement being executed by the MCS team at Citrix, the release cadence is impressive and the feature enhancements significant. I spend a lot of time in Microsoft Azure with Citrix Cloud with a lot of happy clients. I thought it would be worth to keep a rolling tally of new features with MCS and how it relates to Azure, so we don\u2019t lose sight of how much value add is provided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":7410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[76,79,155,195,194],"class_list":["post-7371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cloud-and-modern-data-center","tag-azure","tag-cloud","tag-cvad","tag-profiles-windows","tag-upm","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7371"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7411,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7371\/revisions\/7411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}