Course curriculum
Citrix Provisioning (PVS)
Study guides for Citrix Provisioning (PVS) architecture, deployment, operations, and troubleshooting.
Curriculum
Modules and lessons
Module 01
Citrix Provisioning (PVS)
- 01Rebuilding a Citrix CVAD Lab with SQL Express: Fixing Site Database Creation, Delegated Admin, and PVS/MCS ReconfigurationOverview This post documents the process I followed while rebuilding a Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops on-prem lab environment. The lab had previously been configured with both MCS and PVS, but I rebuilt the Delivery Controller as a new server named CVAD02. During the rebuild, I ran into several issues related to SQL Express, Citrix […]Open lesson →
- 02My Citrix Certification Roadmap: How I Plan to Become a Principal Citrix EngineerI already have a strong certification background, including Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization, commonly known as CCA-V, and a Citrix App Delivery and Security certification focused on NetScaler Gateway. My larger goal is to become a true principal-level Citrix engineer, not just someone who can administer a Citrix site, but someone who can design, troubleshoot, […]Open lesson →
- 03Creating vDisksIn Citrix Provisioning, the vDisk is the operating system disk image that target devices boot from. Instead of each VM or endpoint having its own full local OS disk, PVS lets machines stream from a centrally managed disk image. A vDisk is not just one file. At minimum, it is typically a VHDX base image […]Open lesson →
- 04vDisk Types, Creation Flow, and Imaging Wizard BasicsThe big idea is that a vDisk acts like the hard disk for a target device, but instead of every machine having its own fully independent disk, the operating system image is stored centrally on a Citrix Provisioning Server or shared storage location. Target devices then boot from that vDisk across the network. In modern […]Open lesson →
- 05How Citrix Provisioning Services Works: Streaming a Shared vDisk to Multiple Target DevicesCitrix Provisioning Services, commonly referred to as Citrix PVS, is one of the most powerful image management technologies in the Citrix stack. Instead of building, maintaining, and patching hundreds of individual virtual machines with their own full operating system disks, PVS allows administrators to create a single master image and stream that image to many […]Open lesson →
- 06Understanding the Citrix Provisioning Target Device Boot Process and vDisk StreamingCitrix Provisioning, commonly called PVS, is a Citrix image management technology that allows multiple target devices to boot from a shared virtual disk, or vDisk, across the network. Instead of maintaining a separate operating system disk for every VM or physical endpoint, PVS allows many machines to stream from a centralized image. The transcript’s main […]Open lesson →
- 07Installing and Connecting to the Citrix Provisioning ConsoleThis article covers the basic installation and first connection process for the Citrix Provisioning Console. The console is the management interface used to administer the Citrix Provisioning farm, including sites, servers, stores, vDisks, device collections, views, and target devices. In the transcript, the console is installed directly on the Citrix Provisioning server. This is a […]Open lesson →
- 08Understanding Citrix Provisioning vDisks, Image Modes, and the Imaging ProcessIn Citrix Provisioning, a vDisk acts like the hard drive for a target device. Instead of every machine using its own local operating system disk, the target device can boot from a shared disk image that is streamed from a Citrix Provisioning server or from shared storage. This is one of the core concepts that […]Open lesson →
- 09Creating a Citrix Provisioning vDisk from a Master Target DeviceThis article documents the process for preparing a master machine, installing the Citrix Provisioning Target Device software, running the Imaging Wizard, creating a vDisk, and validating that the machine can PXE boot and begin the imaging process. This procedure is used when building a Citrix Provisioning Services image from a master device so that additional […]Open lesson →
- 10Citrix Provisioning Write Cache Options ExplainedIn Citrix Provisioning, also known as PVS, the write cache is one of the most important concepts to understand when working with standard mode vDisks. When a vDisk is placed in standard mode, the base vDisk is treated as read-only. This allows multiple target devices to boot from the same shared image without each device […]Open lesson →
- 11Citrix Provisioning Post-Imaging Validation and vDisk AssignmentAfter a Citrix Provisioning imaging task completes, the next step is to validate that the vDisk was created successfully, confirm that the master target device is no longer locking the vDisk, and prepare the image for use by target devices. This stage is important because the imaging wizard may report success, but the administrator still […]Open lesson →
- 12Citrix Provisioning VM Template and Catalog Deployment ScenariosOnce the Citrix Provisioning vDisk has been created, validated, and placed into the correct mode, the next major step is deploying machines that can boot from that vDisk. The instructor’s example is based on SCVMM, but the core workflow is not unique to SCVMM. The same general concept applies across VMware vSphere, XenServer, Hyper-V with […]Open lesson →