Chapter 8

Understanding Service Modeling

One of the most powerful aspects of VMM 2012 is the ability to combine various library components, to deploy not only a VM, but also a complex n-tier application, across many VMs over different networks. Before you can create and deploy services in VMM, a number of prerequisites need to be met. This chapter introduces service deployment and in an extended example, takes a simple service from deployment through scaling out, exporting and importing a service template, and managing updates. This chapter covers the following main topics:

• How service templates enable you to model services and deploy them as easily as VMs
• How sequencing captures all necessary steps and resources for distributing and installing an application reliably
• The nuts and bolts of preparing, distributing, and updating services and application packages

Introduction to Service Templates

Just as VM templates provide a standardized group of hardware, software, and application settings that you can consistently reuse to create multiple new VMs, a service template provides the information required to create an instance of a service. A service can be as simple as a single tiered application contained within a VM, or it can be a multitier application spanning a number of VMs that are managed as a single entity.

Every service template has a name, which appears in the VMs and Services workspace; has a release value, which indicates the version of the service template; and is constructed from a pattern of one or more tiers, which is a model of your service graphically represented in the VMM Service Template Designer.

Each tier of your service can contain some combination of the following four components:

• A VM template (see Chapter 5, “Understanding the VMM Library”)
• A virtual IP template (see Chapter 6, “Understanding Network and Storage Integration in VMM 2012”)
• An application profile
• A SQL Server profile

Preparing the Library for Application Deployment

Before you can commission your service via VMM, you must set up and configure a number of library resources to enable you to deploy your service. These library resources include the following:

• VM template
  • Hardware profile
  • Guest operating-system profile
• Prebuilt virtual hard disk (VHD)
• Application profile
• SQL Server profile
• Custom resources

You start by deploying a VM template. Then you add or extend additional library resources to allow you to eventually deploy and scale out your service.

Virtual-Machine Templates

A VM template is a library resource that consists of a number of other configuration components:

• Hardware profile
• Guest operating-system profile
• Virtual hard disk
• Capability profile
• Application profile
• SQL Server profile

Creating a Hardware Profile

A hardware profile is a library resource that contains the hardware specifications to be applied to a new VM or to a VM template.

Use the following procedure to create a new hardware profile from within the VMM console. This profile serves as the base hardware profile and is used later in the example deployment.

Figure 8.1 Configuring the hardware profile

Creating a Guest Operating-System Profile

A guest operating-system profile is a collection of operating-system settings and values that can be imported into a VM template, thereby providing a consistent OS configuration for VMs that are deployed from that template.

Use the following procedure to create a new guest operating-system profile to serve as the base guest operating-system profile and is used later in the example deployment.

Figure 8.2 Configuring the guest OS profile

Adding a VHD to the Library

Your library must contain a sysprepped Windows 2008 R2 SP1 VHD. Adding a file-based resource such as a VHD to the library must be done manually. To use the files before the next scheduled library refresh, you must manually refresh the library server or share. To add the required VHD, complete one of the following tasks:

• Using Windows Explorer, browse to the library share and manually copy the specific files you need.
• In the VMM console, in the Library workspace, expand Library Servers, right-click a library share, and click Explore. Manually copy the specific files you need.
• In the VMM console, on the Home tab, use the Import Physical Resource and Export Physical resource options to import and export file-based resources between library shares.

To refresh the library server:

Creating a VM Template

With all the basic building blocks in place, the next step is to create a VM template.

Use the following steps to create a new VM template:

Creating Application Packages with Server App-V

One of the major enhancements in VMM 2012 is the capability of VMM to manage Microsoft Server Application Virtualization (Server App-V) packages. Server App-V provides the ability to virtualize an application and abstract the application from the underlying server operating system. Applications are packaged by using a sequencer, which then makes the application files easy to copy, without requiring changes to the application itself. There are five steps to creating a Server App-V package:

Installing the Server App-V Sequencer

To install the Server App-V Sequencer, you must deploy a VM to act as the reference machine. Use the components you now have in the library to deploy a VM to act as your reference machine. There are a couple of important points to remember when installing Server App-V:

• Install the Server App-V Sequencer on a clean reference machine.

• If you are planning to deploy Server App-V packages to multiple operating system versions, choose the lowest OS version as the OS for your reference machine.

Table 8.1 OS requirements for the Server App-V Sequencer

The setup binaries for the Server App-V Sequencer are in a file named seqsetup.exe, which by default is on your VMM server, under either x86 or x64 system architecture, in the following directory:

c:program filesmicrosoft system center 2012virtual machine managersav

Take these steps to install the Server App-V Sequencer on the reference machine:

If it does not detect the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Packages (x86) and the Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Packages (x86), the Setup Wizard installs them.

Creating Your First Package

If you have installed the Server App-V Sequencer on a suitable reference machine, you can start to sequence your first application. The example sequences a sample .NET application called Pet Shop 4.0, which is available for download from the following URL:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa479071.aspx

Before sequencing Pet Shop 4.0, you must ensure that the following conditions exist on the reference machine:

• The User Account Control (UAC) is off.
• The Web Server role is enabled.
• The Web Server Management Tools are enabled.
• Web Deploy 2.0 is installed.

Web Deploy enables you to package configuration and content from your installed web applications, including databases, and use the packages for storage or redeployment. Web Deploy is available in your library at

C:ProgramDataVirtual Machine Manager Library FilesApplicationFrameworks

You can also download it from

www.iis.net/download/WebDeploy

Using the Sequencer

Before you launch the Server App-V Sequencer, make sure that the Pet Shop 4.0 installation files are easily accessible to your reference machine. The procedure for sequencing the Pet Shop 4.0 application has four basic parts:

• Start the Sequencer and install.
• Perform post-installation tasks.
• Create the package.
• Store the package in the library.

To start the Sequencer and Install Pet Shop 4.0, follow these steps:

1. On the reference machine, start the App-V Sequencer.

You should be able to do this from the Start menu by navigating to All Programs → Microsoft Server Application Virtualization → Microsoft Server Application Virtualization Sequencer.

The Microsoft Server Application Virtualization Sequencer screen appears.

2. Click Create A New Virtual Application Package. The Prepare Computer screen appears.

3. Resolve any highlighted issues and click Refresh. When no issues are highlighted, click Next. The Select Installer screen appears.

4. Click Browse and navigate to Microsoft .NET Pet Shop 4.0.msi (the Pet Shop 4.0 application installer). Click Open and click Next. The Package Name screen appears.

5. Enter Petshop4 in the Package Name field and click Next.

The Installation screen appears and displays a progress bar. When it finishes, the Security Warning pop-up appears.

6. Click through the following screens:

• On the Security Warning screen, click Run.
• On the Welcome To The Setup Wizard screen, click Next.
• On the License Agreement screen, click Accept.
• On the .NET Pet Shop 4.0 Information screen, click Next.
• On the Installation Options screen, click Source Code Only and Next.

The Select Installation Folder screen appears (Figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3 The installation-folder options

7. Click Browse, change the folder to Q:PetShop4 and click Next.

8. Click through the following screens:

• In Internet Explorer, close the readme file.
• On the Installation Complete screen, click Close.

9. Minimize the Sequencer. The Sequencer continues watching. After you perform the post-installation tasks, maximize it and continue.

To perform the post-installation tasks (such as sequencing Pet Shop 4.0), follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated command prompt (one with administrative rights) and change to Q:Petshop4.

2. Enter build.bat and wait for all the actions within the batch file to complete.

When the batch job is done, the message Press any key to continue… will appear.

3. From the same command prompt, enter ecryptWebConfig.bat and wait for the batch job to finish.

When the batch job is done, the message Press any key to continue… will appear.

4. Start the IIS manager.

You should be able to do this from the Start menu by navigating to Administrative Tools → Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

5. Expand the Local Host node, right-click the Sites node, and select Add Web Site. The Add Web Site screen appears (Figure 8.4).

Figure 8.4 Adding a website

6. Enter PetShop4 as the site name, Q:PetShop4Web as the physical path, and 8080 as the assigned port; or use whichever port is appropriate for your environment, and click OK.

7. Using Windows Explorer, copy the Transact-SQL database scripts for Pet Shop 4.0 from Q:PetShop4DatabaseScripts to a machine that is easily accessible to the reference machine.

You will need these scripts later, when you start to create SQL DACPACs.

To create the package (and continue sequencing Pet Shop 4.0), follow these steps:

1. Maximize the Sequencer, click the I Am Finished Installing check box, and click Next. The Configure Software screen appears.

2. Switch to the VMM management server (or the main library share) and connect to the shared location where the Pet Shop 4.0 database scripts reside.

3. On the main library share, under the ApplicationFrameworks folder, create a subfolder called SQL_TSCRIPTS and a subfolder within that folder called PetShop4_SQLDB.CR.

The ApplicationFrameworks folder is created by default during the VMM installation.

4. Copy the Transact-SQL scripts to the PetShop4_SQLDB.CR folder.

5. In the VMM console → Library workspace → Library pane, expand the Library Servers node, right-click the library server to which you copied the scripts, and select Refresh.

6. Go back to the Sequencer, and on the Configure Software page, click Next because no first-use tasks need to be managed for Pet Shop 4.0.

The Create Package screen appears.

7. Click Close.

The Deployment Configuration Items screen appears, showing all captured connection strings and application settings (Figure 8.5).

Figure 8.5 Configuring deployment

8. From the File menu, click Save and save the Server App-V project to an easily accessible location.

To store the package in the library (and continue sequencing Pet Shop 4.0), follow these steps:

1. Switch to the VMM management server (or the main library share) and connect to the shared location where the Pet Shop 4.0 package resides.

2. On the main library share, under the App-V folder, create a subfolder called PetShop4 and a subfolder of that folder called V1.

If you followed along in Chapter 5, “Understanding the VMM Library,” you created the App-V folder. The name V1 stands for version 1.

3. Copy the contents of the sequenced package to the V1 folder.

4. In the VMM console → Library workspace → Library pane, expand the Library Servers node, right-click the library server to which you copied the package, and select Refresh.

The Server App-V package should now appear in the library.

5. Right-click the Server App-V package and select Properties. The PetShop4 Properties screen appears (Figure 8.6)

Figure 8.6 PetShop4 properties

6. On the General tab, in the Family field, enter an application family name (for example, PetShop4.) In the Release field, enter a release value (for example, 1.0), and click OK.

Creating an Application Profile for a Server App-V Application

Application profiles provide the instructions for installing Microsoft Server App-V applications, Microsoft Web Deploy applications, and Microsoft SQL Server DACs, and for running scripts when deploying a VM as part of a service.

To create an application profile for a Microsoft Server App-V application, perform these steps:

1. In the VMM console, select the Library workspace. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create, and select Application Profile. The New Application Profile screen appears.

2. On the General tab, enter a name and description for the application profile, and then open the Application Configuration tab (Figure 8.7).

Figure 8.7 Setting OS compatibility

3. Click OS Compatibility and select the OS version and edition on which the application is supported. Click OK. The New Application Profile screen appears (Figure 8.8).

Figure 8.8 Configuring the application

4. Click Add (the green plus sign) and select Virtual Application. Enter a name for the application (for example, PetShop4 Application). Click Browse, select the application package that you previously placed in the library, and click OK.

SQL Server Profiles

SQL Server profiles have a key role in rapidly deploying SQL Server within your environment. You decouple the mechanics of installation (called sysprepping) from customizing SQL Server for a specific use. The first phase is to perform a standalone SQL Server deployment on a base VM, leaving configuration for a later phase, during which you'll create and use SQL Server profiles.

This approach has the following limitations:

• Only Database Engine Services and Reporting Services support standalone deployment.
• You can't use standalone deployment in combination with clustering or high-availability scenarios.
• You need the installation media when you configure the image.

Performing a Standalone Deployment

You can use the Advanced option within the SQL Server Installation Center to perform a standalone deployment. This installation option is available in all editions of SQL Server 2008 R2.

Although the instructions for performing standalone SQL deployments are not within the scope of this book, there are several articles that do describe how to do it. However, these articles typically do not explain how to use VMM when carrying out the Complete Image phase. The following TechNet article provides good instructions:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210664.aspx

Only the Prerequisites and Prepare Image sections of this article are applicable. The remainder of the configuration uses VMM, as described in subsequent sections of this chapter.

You can also perform the Prepare Image phase from the command line by running the following command:

setup.exe /q /ACTION=PrepareImage /FEATURES=SQL,RS
          /InstanceID =<MyInstanceID> /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS

Once you have a standalone deployment of SQL Server, run Windows Sysprep to generalize the operating-system instance and submit the generalized VHD into the library. This is your source VHD for deploying SQL Server.

Use a descriptive name for the VHD file so you can distinguish this VHD from other VHDs in the library. For example, you can rename your VHD to W2K8R2x64_SQL2K8R2EE.VHD.

Creating a SQL Server Profile

Now that your standalone deployment of SQL is configured and in the library, use the following procedure to create a SQL Server profile.

1. In the VMM console, select the Library workspace. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create, and select SQL Server Profile. The New SQL Server Profile screen appears.

2. On the General tab, enter a name and description for the SQL Server profile. Switch to the SQL Server Configuration tab (Figure 8.9).

Figure 8.9 Specifying SQL Server deployment options

3. Click the SQL Server Deployment option. Fill in the name, instance name, instance ID, product key, and installation Run As account. Click Configuration.

In the Name field specify a name for this SQL Server deployment, and in the Instance Name field, specify the SQL Server instance name: if this value is not set, the default instance name of MSSQLSERVER will be used.

In the Instance ID field (this was the instance ID that you choose during the SQL Server prepare-image step), enter your preconfigured value.

In the Product Key field, specify the product key for the edition of SQL Server you are deploying. If a product key it is not specified and the SQL Server does not have a volume license, then SQL server is installed under Evaluation.

In the Installation Run As Account field, click Browse to select the Run As Account under which you want to run the SQL Server setup.

A Run As account is needed if the Complete Image phase needs to access SQL Server installation media, if the SQL Server installation media is in a network share and a domain account is required to access this share, or when the SQL service accounts need to be domain accounts that will be validated by SQL Server Setup running under this installation account. If this value is not specified, the VMM service account is used by default.

The configuration information appears in the display pane (Figure 8.10).

Figure 8.10 Configuring SQL Server

4. In the Media Source field, specify the path to the installation-media folder containing setup.exe for SQL.

5. In the SQL Server Administrators field, click Add and specify the SQL Server administrator's security group.

6. In the Security Mode field, specify the SQL Server security mode. If you do not specify a mode, the default value is Windows Authentication.

7. In the System Administrator (SA) Password Run As Account field, specify the password for the SQL Server SA account. The password is required when the security mode is SQL Server Authentication.

8. Set the Use TCP/IP For Remote Connections and Use Named Pipes For Remote Connections check boxes to specify the state of these options for the SQL Server service.

9. In the SQL Server Configuration File field, optionally specify a SQL.ini configuration file that includes the desired configurations not available in VMM. Click Service Accounts.

For further details on how to generate and configure a SQL.ini configuration file, read the following TechNet article:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239405.aspx

The service-accounts information appears in the Display pane (Figure 8.11).

Figure 8.11 Specifying SQL service accounts

10. Specify the startup accounts for the SQL Server service, SQL Server Agent, and Reporting Services Run As accounts, and click OK.

Now you have all the building blocks in place to deploy a SQL VM via VMM.

SQL Data-Tier Applications

Since SQL Server 2008 R2, the DAC feature has made it easy for database administrators to package things like databases, tables, users, and logins into a single object for deployment. Its flexibility eases implementation and configuration.

You can use the same DAC for updates or modifications to the underlying platform and for deployment of scale, thereby providing a simplified process for upgrading database servers. A DAC definition contains the following elements:

• Definition of all database objects
• Definition of all server-level objects
• DAC properties that define characteristics of the DAC package
• SQL Server selection policies
• Files and scripts associated with the DAC package

Only specific objects can be specified in a DAC package as it is being authored or edited. The Extract Data-Tier Application Wizard will not extract a DAC package from an existing database that contains objects that are not supported in a DAC package. The wizard reports the objects it finds that are not supported in a DAC. The following objects are supported in DAC packages:

• DATABASE ROLE
• FUNCTION: Inline Table-valued
• FUNCTION: Multistatement Table-valued
• FUNCTION: Scalar
• INDEX: Clustered
• INDEX: Non-clustered
• INDEX: Unique
• LOGIN
• SCHEMA
• STORED PROCEDURE: Transact-SQL
• TABLE: Check Constraint
• TABLE: Collation
• TABLE: Column, including computed columns
• TABLE: Constraint, Default
• TABLE: Constraint, Foreign Key
• TABLE: Constraint, Index
• TABLE: Constraint, Primary Key
• TABLE: Constraint, Unique
• TRIGGER: DML
• TYPE: User-defined Data Type
• TYPE: User-defined Table Type
• USER
• VIEW

Creating a DAC Package

Two methods are available for creating a DAC package that VMM can consume. They are

• Using Visual Studio 2010
• Extracting the DAC package from an existing SQL database

Extracting from an existing SQL database is an easy way to build your first DAC package. You can convert an existing database structure and its related objects to a DAC package. This method doesn't require Visual Studio 2010. It uses SQL Server Management Studio.

To create sample DAC packages, you need an existing SQL server from within your environment or, better still, a dedicated SQL server from your library. You use the SQL server to replay the Transact-SQL files you stored earlier in this chapter, when sequencing the Pet Shop 4.0 application. To create simple DAC packages, follow these steps:

1. Use the InstallDatabases.cmd file to execute the T-SQL script.

2. Launch SQL Server Management Studio, connect to the appropriate database server, log in with the appropriate credentials, right-click MSPetShop4, click Tasks, and click Extract Data-Tier Application.

The Management Studio begins to create the DAC (Figure 8.12).

Figure 8.12 Extracting a data-tier application

3. Repeat the previous step for the MSPetShop4Orders, MSPetShop4Profile, and MSPetShop4Services databases.

You can edit the DAC packages in Visual Studio 2010 to make modifications or extract the details.

4. Save the DAC packages to an easily accessible location, and hand them off to the application owner or developer.

To store the DAC packages in the library, follow these steps:

Creating an Application Profile for a SQL Data-Tier Application

Creating an application profile for a Microsoft SQL Server data-tier application (DAC) is much the same as creating an application profile for Microsoft Server App-V applications or Microsoft Web Deploy applications.

To create an application profile for a Microsoft SQL Server DAC, follow these steps:

1. In the VMM console, select the Library workspace. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create and select Application Profile. The New Application Profile screen appears.

2. On the General tab, enter a name and description for the application profile. In the Compatibility field, select SQL Server Application Host. Then open the Application Configuration tab (Figure 8.13).

Figure 8.13 Configuring application deployments

3. Click OS Compatibility and select the operating-system version and edition on which the application is supported.

4. Click Add (the green plus sign) and select SQL Server Data-Tier Application. The information within the pane changes (Figure 8.13).

5. In the Name field, enter an application name (for example, PetShop4 DAC Application).

6. In the SQL Server Data-Tier Application Package field, click Browse and select the application DAC packages that you previously submitted into the library.

7. Fill in the Authentication Type, Deployment Run As Account, and Uninstall Mode fields, and then click OK.

Web Applications

The Microsoft web deployment tool (Web Deploy) is a .NET-based application that provides both a user interface and a command-line shell, which simplifies the management, deployment, and migration of IIS web servers, websites, and web applications.

Use Web Deploy to take a website and its associated resources (for example, COM objects, content, Registry keys, and certificates) and replicate them across a group of web servers; or, more importantly for VMM 2012, create a package and deploy it. Web Deploy integrates with Visual Studio 2010 to simplify the deployment of web-based applications to web servers or web farms.

What Gets Installed

Installing Web Deploy, which is effectively a managed code framework, installs the Web Deploy engine and its public APIs. You can choose the way to install the features (Figure 8.14).

Figure 8.14 Web Deploy custom setup

The installed components are as follows:

IIS Manager User Interface Module

Allows the web-server administrator to perform some deployment tasks, mainly packaging or deploying a website or application

IIS 7.0 Deployment Handler

A handler that integrates with IIS Web Management Service, allowing non-administrators or administrators to perform remote operations

Remote Agent Service

An administrator-specific service, based on HTTP and HTTPS, that allows the web-server administrator to connect and perform remote operations

Installing Web Deploy

Installing Web Deploy is a fairly easy and painless task because Microsoft includes the Web Deploy framework in the library. The Web Deploy binaries are at the following location:

ProgramDataVirtual Machine Manager Library FilesApplicationFrameworks

When you create your VM template, you can add a Pre-Install script to automatically install Web Deploy (Figure 8.15).

Figure 8.15 Automating the Web Deploy setup in VMM

Creating Web Deploy Packages

Two methods are available for creating a Web Deploy package that VMM can consume. They are

• Using Visual Studio 2010
• Extracting a Web Deploy package from an existing web server

Extracting a Web Deploy package from an existing web server, much like building a DAC package from an existing SQL server, is an easy way to build your first Web Deploy package. To create a simple Web Deploy package, perform these steps:

1. Log onto the reference machine and launch the IIS Manager. Expand the Server node, expand the Sites node, expand Default Web Site, right-click the application, select Deploy, and select Export Application. The Export Application Package screen appears.

By default the Web Deploy package contains the site or application you select (Default Web Site/Pet Shop 4.0) and its content folders.

2. Click Manage Components.

The Manage Components screen appears (Figure 8.16). The first row is the IIS app-provider entry, which is the application. The Provider Name drop-down list contains other potential providers. If you hover over a provider in the drop-down list, you'll see a description and an example path.

Figure 8.16 Managing components of an application package

3. Optionally, add other providers from the Provider Name drop-down menu. Click OK.

The Export Application Package screen reappears. If you add providers in step 3, they'll show up in the package-contents tree.

4. Click Next. The Select Parameters screen appears. It shows the parameters for the selected providers.

5. Click Next. The Save Package screen appears.

6. Choose a location and file name for saving your package and click Next.

The wizard completes the packaging process and saves the package to the specified location. The Export Progress And Summary screen appears.

7. Switch to the VMM 2012 management server (or the main library share) and connect to the shared location where the Web Deploy package resides.

8. On the main library share, create a subfolder called Web_Deploy, and a subfolder of that folder called PetShop4_V1.

9. Copy the contents of the Web Deploy package to the PetShop4_V1 folder.

10. In the VMM console → Library workspace → Library pane, expand the Library Servers node, right-click the library server you copied the package to, and select Refresh.

Basic Sequencing Concepts

Sequencing is the process of discovering and recording the steps and resources necessary to install and set up an application on a system other than the one on which you developed it. The Server App-V Sequencer is the core component for producing Server App-V packages, and it relies on components of the VMM infrastructure to deploy applications.

The Sequencer takes standard, application-installation files and monitors the installation so that it can produce application packages that VMM can understand and consume. The following is a high-level description of the sequencing workflow:

Files Created by the Server App-V Sequencer

When it sequences a Windows application, the Server App-V Sequencer produces the following files:

OSD

The open software description (OSD) file provides the information necessary to find the SFT file and set up and launch the application.

SFT

The SFT file contains the core application assets. The Sequencer, without altering the application's installation routine, packages these assets so that VMM can deploy the application.

SPRJ

The Sequencer project (SPRJ) file contains a list of files, directories, and Registry entries that have been excluded. Load this file in the Sequencer to add, change, delete, or upgrade the sequenced application.

Application Manifest

The application manifest XML file contains details such as the version of the OS the application was sequenced on, and the applications, roles, and features that must be on any machine where the package is deployed.

ICO

The ICO file contains the icon associated with the application.

Deployment-Configuration Manifest

The manifest is an XML file containing customized settings that are applied to a specific, virtual application package when the package is run on a target server. The Sequencer detects some deployment configuration settings. You can add others manually.

Configuring the Sequencing Workstation

There are no hard and fast sizing guidelines for determining the hardware configuration of your sequencing workstation, because any sizing guidelines need to incorporate the requirements for the application being sequenced.

The sequencing workstation itself can be a physical server, but using VMs and snapshots (also known as checkpoints in VMM) gives you more flexibility. You can revert to a known working environment when packaging multiple applications.

Sequence the application on a machine that matches the OS and configuration of the target server. You can sometimes sequence on one version of an OS and run the virtualized application on a different version by using the lowest common denominator. However, this scenario is not guaranteed to work for all combinations of applications and operating systems.

Configure the temp directories on the sequencing workstation to ensure successful sequencing and improve performance by potentially using a second disk as a location for these files. The Sequencer uses %TMP%, %TEMP%, and its own scratch directory for temporary files.

These locations should contain free disk space equivalent to the estimated installation size. The scratch directory is where the Sequencer temporarily stores files generated during the sequencing process. You can easily check the location of the scratch directory by launching the Sequencer, clicking Options from the Tools menu, and then modifying the scratch directory box in the General tab. By default, the scratch directory location is

C:Program Files (x86)Server Application Virtualization SequencerScratch

Clean Operating System

It is important to sequence an application on your VM with a clean, known, good OS that has no extraneous applications installed. The VM should mirror the server on which the sequenced application will run and contain the lowest common denominator in terms of service packs and hot fixes.

The sequencing workstation should not have anything installed on it that could impact or impede the installation of the application you plan to sequence. This is essential so that the sequenced application package includes all required files. Third-party components or applications may include files that the sequenced application needs. In such cases, the Sequencer won't add those files to the application package.

Server App-V Q: Drive

The Server App-V agent reserves a virtual drive, usually Q:, on the Windows server. The virtual application executes from this virtual drive. This virtual drive should not be accessed by Windows Explorer and is used only by the Server App-V agent.

The drive is called the Microsoft Application Virtualization Virtual Drive. It is typically the Q: drive. However, it automatically moves if necessary at server startup. It is highly recommended to standardize the drive identifier so that you sequence and run the application from the same drive letter identifier. The drive letter identifier is configurable via the following Registry key:

HKEY_Local_MachineSoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftSoftGrid4.5ClientAppFS
  name equals DriveLetter
  type equals REG_SZ
  data equals Q:.

Applications That Work with Server App-V

Server App-V can sequence and deploy most, but not all, applications. It does not support sequencing applications that require device or kernel driver support (for example, antivirus software). It also does not support some large server applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft SharePoint.

Server App-V is primarily designed for use with business applications or the business tiers of multitiered applications. There is no list of supported applications for use with Server App-V, but it is optimized to create virtual application packages for applications with the following attributes:

• State persisted to local disk
• Microsoft Windows services
• Internet Information Services (IIS)
• Uses the Registry
• COM+/DCOM
• Text-based configuration files
• WMI providers
• Microsoft SQL Reporting Services
• Local users and groups
• Java

Deploying a Service

In VMM 2012, you use the Service Template Designer to create a service template. The Service Template Designer defines the configuration of the service you are commissioning. The service template includes information about the VMs that make up the service, which applications to install on the VMs, and the network configuration needed for the service.

Service templates can use existing VM templates, or you can define the service without existing VM templates.

Using a service template, you can deploy the service to either a host group or a private cloud. Once the service is deployed, you can easily update the service template and deploy those updates to the already-deployed service. If the demand for your service increases, you can deploy additional VMs to the existing service, by scaling out, in order to provide additional resources for this service. If the demand for your service decreases, you can scale back the additional VMs associated with your existing service.

The following sections show how to create a three-tier application that consists of a web server (front-end tier), application server (middle tier) and database server (back-end tier). Sample files are available for download to help accelerate the process of implementing the example service template at https://skydrive.live.com/#cid=FD9BAD67005DBCCB&id=FD9BAD67005DBCCB%21534

Creating the Web Server–Tier Template

To create a VM template for a web server (front end) tier, follow these steps:

1. In the VMM console, select the Library workspace. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create Run As Account. Name the account SQL_SA, name the user SA, and use Password1 as the password.

2. In the Library workspace → Home tab → Create group, click Create VM Template. The Select Source screen appears.

3. Click the Use An Existing VM Template Or VHD radio button, and then browse to the base OS VHD, W2K8R2SP1x64.vhd. Click OK, and then click Next.

This VHD becomes the starting point for the new template. The VM Identity screen appears.

4. Enter the name WebServer Template and a description, and then click Next. The hardware-configuration screen appears (refer back to Figure 8.1).

5. Select the predefined hardware profile from the pull-down list and click Next. The OS-configuration screen appears (refer back to Figure 8.2).

6. Select the predefined guest OS profile from the pull-down menu. Under General Settings → Identity Information, in the Computer Name field, enter WebSvr##.

7. Under Roles and Features, click Roles. Select WebServer (IIS) → Management Tools → Application Development → Basic Authentication.

8. Click Features. Select .NET Framework 3.51 → Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) → Messaging Queuing. Click Next. The application-configuration screen appears (Figure 8.8).

9. Click OS Compatibility and select the 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise as the OS version and edition on which the application is supported. Click Add (the green plus sign) and select Script.

Script information appears in the information pane (Figure 8.17).

Figure 8.17 Configuring application scripts

10. Set the fields as follows:

• In the Script Command Type field, select Pre-Install.
• In the Executable Program field, enter cmd.exe.
• In the Parameters field, enter /q /c InstallWebDeploy.cmd.
• In the Script Resource Package field, browse to WebDeploy_x64_en-US_2.0.1070.cr.
• In the Timeout field, enter 300.

11. Click Add (the green plus sign) and then click Web Application. Name it Web Application. Browse to the Pet Shop 4.0 Web Deploy package you created earlier and click OK.

Properties specific to the Web Deploy package will appear in the Settings section (Figure 8.18).

Figure 8.18 The settings properties

CS_CORE_DB

server=@sqlComputerName@;database=MSPetShop4;user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@; connect timeout=200;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;

CS_ORDERS_DB

server=@sqlComputerName@;database=MSPetShop4Orders;user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@; connect timeout=200;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;

CS_PROFILE_DB

server=@sqlComputerName@;database=MSPetShop4Profile;user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@; connect timeout=200;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;

CS_SERVICES_DB

server=@sqlComputerName@;database=MSPetShop4Services; user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@;connect timeout=200;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;

QUEUE_PATH

FormatName:DIRECT=OS:@lobComputerName@Private$PSOrders

Creating the Application Server–Tier Template

To create a VM template for an application server (middle) tier, follow these steps:

OrderQueuePath

server=@sqlComputerName@;database=MSPetShop4Profile;user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;

SQLConn1

server=@sqlComputerName@;user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@;database=MSPetShop4;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;packet size=3072;

SQLConn2

server=@sqlComputerName@;user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@;database=MSPetShop4Profile;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;packet size=1024;

SQLConn3

server=@sqlComputerName@;user id=@petshopUser@;password=@petshopPassword@;database=MSPetShop4Orders;min pool size=4;max pool size=4;packet size=1024; timeout=200;min pool size=4;Max pool size=4;

Creating the Database Server Tier–Template

To create a VM template for a database server (back-end) tier, execute the following steps:

1. In the VMM console → Library workspace → Home tab → Create group, click Create VM Template. The Select Source screen appears.

2. Click the Use An Existing VM Template Or VHD radio button, and then browse to the base OS VHD W2K8R2x64_SQL.vhd. Click OK, and then click Next.

This VHD becomes the starting point for the new template. The VM Identity screen appears.

3. Enter the name DatabaseTier Template and a description, and click Next. The Configure Hardware screen appears.

4. Select the predefined hardware profile from the pull-down list and click Next. The Configure Operating System screen appears.

5. Select the predefined guest OS profile from the pull-down menu, under General Settings → Identity Information, in the Computer Name field, enter SQLSVR##. Click Next.

The Application Configuration screen appears.

6. Click OS Compatibility and select the 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise as the OS version and edition on which the application is supported. Click Add (the green plus sign) and select SQL Server Data-Tier Application.

Application information appears in the information pane (Figure 8.19). The subsequent steps create separate application options for the different Pet Shop 4.0 databases.

Figure 8.19 Configuring SQL DACPAC

7. Fill in the fields as follows:

• In the Name field, enter a database name (for example, Deployment PetShop Database).
• In the SQL Server Data-Tier Application Package field, browse to PetShop4.dacpac.
• In the SQLDAC Instance Name field, don't change anything.
• In the Authentication Type field, select SQL Server Authentication.
• In the Deployment Run As Account field, click and browse to the SQL Run As account (SQL_SA) you created earlier.

8. Click Add (the green plus sign) and select SQL Server Data-Tier Application. Repeat step 7, but with database name PetShop Orders Database, and browse to PetShop4Orders.dacpac.

9. Click Add (the green plus sign) and select SQL Server Data-Tier Application. Repeat step 7, but with database name PetShop Services Database, and browse to PetShop4Profiles.dacpac.

10. Click Add (the green plus sign) and select SQL Server Data-Tier Application. Repeat step 7, but with database name PetShop Profiles Database, and browse to PetShop4Services.dacpac.

11. Click Add (the green plus sign) and Script. Fill in the following fields in the Information pane and click Next:

• In the Script Command Type field, select Post-Install.
• In the Executable Program field, enter cmd.exe.
• In the Parameters field, enter /q /c configure-datatier.cmd @sqlAdmin@ @sqlAdminPassword@.
• In the Script Resources Package field, browse to petshop.sql.cr.
• In the Timeout field, enter 300.

The Configure SQL Server screen appears (Figure 8.20).

Figure 8.20 Configuring SQL Server instances

12. Click SQL Server Deployments. Fill in the fields as follows and click Configuration:

• In the Name field, enter a name for the database server (for example, PetShop DB Deployment).
• In the Instance Name field, enter MSSQLSERVER.
• In the Instance ID field, enter the Instance ID from the standalone installation (for example, SysPrep).

The SQL Server Configuration screen appears (Figure 8.21).

Figure 8.21 Configuring SQL Server

13. Fill in the fields as follows and click Service Accounts:

• In the Media Source field, enter C:SQLEVAL.
• In the SQL Server Administrators field, click Add to enter your SQL server administrative user or group.
• In the Security Mode field, select SQL Server Authentication.
• In the System Administrator (SA) Password Run As Account field, browse to the SQL server Run As Account SQL_SA.
• Click the Use TCP/IP For Remote Connections check box to enable.
• Click the Use Named Pipes For Remote Connections check box to enable.

Account information appears in the Information pane.

14. Fill in the fields as follows, and then click Next and Create:

• In the SQL Server Service Run As Account field, browse to NT AuthoritySystem.
• In the SQL Server Agent Service Run As Account field, browse to NT AuthoritySystem.
• In the Reporting Service Run As Account field, browse to NT AuthoritySystem.

Creating a Service Template

Before you can deploy a service, you must create a service template using the Service Template Designer. In the previous tasks, you created all the necessary VMs to enable you to deploy your first service.

To create a simple three-tier service, perform the following steps:

1. In the VMM console → Library workspace → Home tab → Create group, click Create Service Template. The New Service Template screen appears (Figure 8.22).

Figure 8.22 Creating a service template

2. Enter PetShop4 as the name, select the Blank pattern, and click OK. The Service Template Designer canvas appears (Figure 8.23).

Figure 8.23 The Service Template Designer canvas

3. From the VM Templates list, drag WebServer Template to the canvas.

4. Click the WebServer template. In the list of scale-out options that appears in the lower-right portion of the screen, check the This Computer Can Be Scaled Out check box and increase Maximum Instance Count to 2.

5. Drag MiddleTier Template and DatabaseTier Template to the canvas so the screen looks like Figure 8.24.

Figure 8.24 Designing the service template on the canvas

6. On the Home tab, click Save and Validate, wait for the changes to be saved, and then click Configure Deployment. The Select Name And Destination screen appears.

7. Enter PetShop4 Deployment as the name and click OK.

VMM determines the best place to put this service and displays the results in a graphical overview (Figure 8.25). The Pet Shop 4.0 Deployment tree under Service Components shows the computer name of each VM in the application.

Figure 8.25 Graphical overview of Pet Shop 4.0 deployment

8. Enter the following global settings in the Settings section in the lower-left portion of the screen:

• In the lobComputerName field, enter MidSvr01.
• In the petshopPassword field, enter pass@word1.
• In the petshopUser field, enter mspetshop.
• In the sqlAdmin field, enter sa.
• In the sqlAdminPassword field, enter Password1.
• In the sqlComputerName field, enter SQLSVR01.

9. Click Deploy Service, and then click Deploy.

The service-deployment job starts. You can monitor its progress in the Jobs workspace. When it is complete, the VM and Service workspace should show the status of the created VMs.

Scaling Out a Service

After you deploy a service in VMM, you may need to deploy additional VMs to a tier of the service. You can do this using VMM's scale-out functionality. When you create a tier in the Service Template Designer, you can specify whether that tier can be scaled out and what the minimum and maximum tier size should be. If you try to scale out a tier beyond its maximum size, you'll receive a warning, but VMM won't prevent you from scaling out that tier. Once deployed, both the tier and the service will indicate a status of Needs Attention.

Use the following procedure to scale out a service:

Exporting and Importing Service Templates

In VMM 2012, you can import and export service templates. This enables you to back them up and share them among different VMM environments, such as test, development, and production.

When you export a service template in VMM, tier definitions, hardware settings, guest operating system settings, application-installation settings, and network configurations are saved to an XML file. The export can include sensitive data, such as passwords, product keys, application settings, and global settings that are marked as secure. The sensitive settings can be encrypted to secure the output. During a service-template import, sensitive settings can be included or excluded. If sensitive settings are included, and they were encrypted during the service-template export, the encryption password is required.

You can also choose to export some or all of the physical resources associated with the service template. This can be useful when copying service templates between environments. You can, for example, exclude the virtual hard disks or other elements that are associated with the service template.

When you import a service template into VMM, it validates physical and logical resources that the service template references in the current environment and it allows you to update references to missing resources, such as logical resources, including logical networks and virtual hard disks.

Exporting a Service Template

To export a service template, use the following steps:

Importing a Service Template

To import a service template, use the following steps:

Managing and Updating a Service

Managing and updating a service in VMM is the process of modifying an already deployed service. VMM keeps track of which service template is used to deploy a service, so you can make updates to the service template and then use the updated service template to make changes to the deployed service.

VMM supports two different methods for making updates to a deployed service.

• Applying updates to existing VMs in place
• Deploying a new VM with the updated settings

Applying an update to the existing VMs is less time-consuming; the majority of configuration changes to VMs and application updates can be applied in this way.

To help minimize service interruptions when a tier is being updated in place, you can specify more than one upgrade domain in the tier properties. When the tier is updated, VMM updates the VMs in the tier according to the VMM upgrade domain. VMM upgrades one upgrade domain at a time, shutting down the VMs running within the upgrade domain, updating them, bringing them back online, and then moving to the next upgrade domain in the series. By shutting down only the VMs running within the current upgrade domain, VMM ensures that an upgrade takes place with the least possible impact to your running service.

Conversely, deploying a new VM with updated settings is a more time-consuming process, because you are replacing the existing VMs of the service with new VMs. This approach is best when deploying operating-system updates, such as a service pack for the guest operating system. If applications are installed on your VMs, and those applications have a method for saving and restoring state, you can use a script in the application profile to save the application state before the existing VMs are removed and use a script to restore the application state after the new VMs are deployed.

Creating an Update Template

To copy a service template for the purpose of updating an existing service, follow these steps:

Applying Updates to a Deployed Service

Updates are applied in two stages. You prepare the update and then, at a convenient time, you actually apply the update.

To prepare to update a deployed service, perform the following steps:

To apply a prepared update, do the following:

Summary

This chapter covered all aspects of setting up, configuring and deploying service templates: preparing the library for application deployment, coming to grips with and understanding the basic concepts of sequencing a line-of-business application with Server App-V, deploying and scaling out a service, and managing and updating a deployed service. You should now understand the considerations behind implementing and commissioning a service that VMM provides, and you should have made your choices optimally for your own unique situation. You are now ready to learn about the next aspect of your private-cloud environment, the private-cloud solution.