No matter which XenApp or XenDesktop version you currently have deployed, there is an easy upgrade or migration path to the current or latest release.
This post will help you learn:
- The options available for upgrade and migration
- Five ways Citrix has made moving to the latest release easier
- What the upgrade and migration process entails and where to find information
The diagram above shows the available paths. For example, a customer currently using XenDesktop 7.0 can upgrade to any later 7.x release.
A frequently-asked question is “If I have XenDesktop 7.0, 7.1, or 7.5, can I upgrade directly to XenDesktop 7.8, without having to first upgrade to 7.6 or 7.7?”
The answer is yes, you can upgrade directly to XenApp or XenDesktop 7.8.
The same applies to migrating from XenApp 6.5 directly to XenApp 7.8: it’s one migration. This simplifies the upgrade/migrate experience; customers don’t have to undergo multiple upgrade/migrate cycles, thereby reducing complexity, cost, and risk of failures.
When defining your upgrade and migrate strategy, you should also consider the newly-introduced long-term service release and current release servicing options.
Whether you choose LTSR or the current release, the following section provides 5 ways Citrix has made moving to latest release easier.
5 Ways Citrix has made moving to newer releases easier
Stay ahead of the curve with new features
Each release offers innovative features with cutting-edge new technologies, enabling customers to make the extraordinary possible. For example, the new features in XenApp and XenDesktop 7.8 include AppDisk layering technology, plus App-V and AppDNA integration and many more.
New OS and platform support
XenApp and XenDesktop support new Windows releases immediately. For example, recent XenApp and XenDesktop releases support Windows 10. So, you can align your OS/platform migration strategy with the current XenApp or XenDesktop release.
Improved quality has set a new bar
Each release has seen an exponential reduction in issues reported internally during testing, and externally in the field.
Each release also contains hotfixes from previous releases, making it a better quality release. There are dedicated engineering resources on upgrades who have helped increase upgrade test and automation coverage to 100% of the upgrade path table above, which has added significantly to confidence in the upgrade quality.
Upgrade stability has improved
The number of intermittent issues during upgrades has decreased, internally and externally. A number of race conditions, exceptions, and hard to reproduce issues which appeared in customer environments have been fixed.
Low maintenance and administration cost with direct upgrade
The inclusion of hotfixes, plus full end-to-end testing during releases, reduces the risk of errors. Being able to upgrade directly (for example, from 7.1 to 7.8) without intermediate upgrades, reduces administrative costs and lowers the probability and risk of unknown failures.
Process and Documentation for Upgrade and Migration
MIGRATION from XenDesktop 4.x to XenDesktop 7.x
Migrate from XenDesktop 4
If you are considering migrating from XenDesktop 4.x to a current XenApp or XenDesktop release, the Migration tool will be useful.
Upgrade to XenApp or XenDesktop 7.x
There are a few things I would like to highlight:
- In order to get new operating systems and new features, Customers have the option to upgrade VDA components only, unlike other products/solutions in the market. Customers don’t have to upgrade the entire site and all of its components.
- Citrix also supports mixed VDAs while customers complete the upgrade process in phases. This helps to upgrade a set of user group/resources to the newer VDAs. After verification, customers can apply the changes to the remaining user group/resources. With this approach, if there are issues then those can be resolved without impacting the other user group/resources.
- As a best practice,one should Use “Test Site” in the Studio UI or Console as checkpoints to ensure that the Site is in good health before and throughout the upgrade sequence. We recommend doing the following:
- Before beginning the upgrade – Ensure that the report generated from “Test site” is green with no issues. If any issues occur, resolve them first before starting the upgrade. The upgrade workflow cannot fix issues which already exist in the deployment, and upgrading may make issues even more complex, impacting the functionality of the site.
- During upgrade use checkpoints – This ensures that the upgrade is progressing successfully. If any issues occur, resolve them before moving on to the next step in the upgrade sequence. You can run tests at the following checkpoints:
-
- Test as each Controller is upgraded
- Test as the site is upgraded using Studio
- Test before backup(s) are taken
- Test as a set of VDAs and other components are upgraded
For details, see the following:
The diagram above shows the sequence for upgrading XenApp and XenDesktop. A few things I would like to highlight:
- In order to get new operating systems and new features, Customers have the option to upgrade VDA components only, unlike other products/solutions in the market. Customers don’t have to upgrade the entire site and all of its components.
- Citrix also supports mixed VDAs while customers complete the upgrade process in phases. This helps to upgrade a set of user group/resources to the newer VDAs. After verification, customers can apply the changes to the remaining user group/resources. With this approach, if there are issues then those can be resolved without impacting the other user group/resources.
- As a best practice, one should Use “Test Site” in the Studio UI or Console as checkpoints to ensure that the Site is in good health before and throughout the upgrade sequence. We recommend doing the following:
- Before beginning the upgrade – Ensure that the report generated from “Test site” is green with no issues. If any issues occur, resolve them first before starting the upgrade. The upgrade workflow cannot fix issues which already exist in the deployment, and upgrading may make issues even more complex, impacting the functionality of the site.
- During upgrade use checkpoints – This ensures that the upgrade is progressing successfully. If any issues occur, resolve them before moving on to the next step in the upgrade sequence. You can run tests at the following checkpoints:
- Test as each Controller is upgraded
- Test as the site is upgraded using Studio
- Test before backup(s) are taken
- Test as a set of VDAs and other components are upgraded
For details, see the following:
- Upgrade to XenApp or XenDesktop 7.6
- Upgrade to XenApp or XenDesktop 7.7
- Upgrade to XenApp or XenDesktop 7.8
I hope this was helpful. I appreciate any feedback about this or any other topics you would like me to cover. You can leave a comment here or tweet me at @ManbinderSingh.
