Citrix Provisioning VM Template and Catalog Deployment Scenarios

Study guide

Technical reference and lesson notes

Once 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 SCVMM, Nutanix AHV, and even unsupported/manual hypervisors such as Proxmox.

The basic idea is:

Create a VM shell or template.

Make sure it has the correct CPU, memory, network, boot method, and cache disk design.

Use Citrix Provisioning and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops to create target devices and assign the vDisk.

Create or update the machine catalog.

Place the machines into a delivery group.

Validate that the machines boot from the streamed vDisk and register with Citrix.

Citrix’s current Provisioning documentation refers to this workflow through the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard, which can create VMs, create Citrix Provisioning target device records, assign a Standard Image vDisk, add devices to Active Directory, and add the virtual desktops to a Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops catalog.

Important Terminology

Older training material may refer to this as the XenDesktop Setup Wizard. In newer Citrix documentation, this is generally referred to as the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard.

In practical terms, this wizard connects the Citrix Provisioning world to the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops world. It takes the PVS vDisk and helps create the VMs, target device records, Active Directory computer accounts, and machine catalog entries needed for delivery.

High-Level Workflow

The presenter’s SCVMM workflow can be translated into a hypervisor-neutral workflow like this:

Prepare the vDisk.

Create a VM template, shell VM, or snapshot depending on the hypervisor.

Configure CPU, memory, network, boot method, and cache disk requirements.

Make sure the VM template is attached to the correct network used for PVS streaming.

Run the appropriate Citrix Provisioning wizard or manually create target devices.

Assign the Standard Image vDisk.

Create or update the machine catalog.

Create or update the delivery group.

Power on the provisioned machines and validate boot, registration, and user launch.

Deployment Scenario Matrix

Scenario	Best Fit	Power Managed	Automated VM Creation	Notes
Citrix Studio / CVAD Setup Wizard	Standard Citrix-managed deployment	Yes	Yes	Best option when the hypervisor is supported by Citrix hosting connections
VMware vSphere / vCenter	Common enterprise deployment	Yes	Yes	Use vCenter, not direct ESXi, for supported automation
Hyper-V with SCVMM	Microsoft enterprise deployment	Yes	Yes	SCVMM is the management layer Citrix expects for Hyper-V automation
XenServer	Citrix-native hypervisor deployment	Yes	Yes	Common in Citrix-focused labs and environments
Nutanix AHV	Nutanix-based VDI deployment	Yes	Yes	Uses snapshots rather than traditional templates
Proxmox or unsupported hypervisor	Lab, study, or manual deployment	Usually No	No	Treat as manual target device provisioning and likely unmanaged catalog
Physical machines	Endpoint or lab hardware	No	No	Create target device records manually or import/export devices

Citrix lists supported host and virtualization resources for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, including Azure Local, XenServer, SCVMM, Nutanix Acropolis, VMware vSphere, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure Resource Manager, Red Hat OpenShift, and related cloud or partner solutions. Proxmox is not listed as a supported Citrix hosting resource in that current list, so it should be treated as a manual or unsupported automation scenario unless Citrix adds native support later.

Scenario 1: Citrix Studio / Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard

This is the cleanest Citrix-supported workflow when the hypervisor is already integrated into Citrix Studio as a hosting connection.

In this model, the administrator creates a hosting connection in Citrix Studio. That hosting connection points to the supported hypervisor platform, storage, and network. Then, from the Citrix Provisioning Console, the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard is used to create machines from a template or snapshot, create PVS target devices, assign the vDisk, create Active Directory computer accounts, and place the machines into a machine catalog.

Use this scenario when you want Citrix to manage the full machine lifecycle, including power actions, catalog integration, and delivery group assignment.

Scenario 2: VMware vSphere / vCenter

For VMware environments, the workflow is similar to the instructor’s SCVMM example, but the management layer is vCenter.

Instead of creating the VM template in SCVMM, create the shell VM or template in vSphere. The VM should have the correct virtual hardware configuration, network adapter, firmware type, CPU, memory, and any cache disk requirement based on the selected write cache option.

The key point is that Citrix does not simply talk to a standalone ESXi host in the same way an administrator does from the vSphere Client. For automation and power management, Citrix expects the VMware environment to be represented through the supported VMware hosting connection. Citrix documentation identifies ESX through vCenter as one of the supported platforms for the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard.

In a typical VMware PVS deployment, you would:

Create or identify the VM template in vSphere.

Make sure the VM is on the correct port group or distributed port group.

Make sure the boot method matches the environment, such as PXE, BDM ISO, or another supported PVS boot method.

Create the Citrix hosting connection to vCenter in Studio.

Run the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard from the PVS Console.

Select the vCenter hosting resource.

Select the template.

Specify the naming scheme, CPU, memory, network, storage, Active Directory OU, machine catalog, and vDisk.

After provisioning, validate that the machines boot from the PVS vDisk and register with the Delivery Controller.

Scenario 3: Hyper-V with SCVMM

This is the scenario closest to the instructor’s lecture.

The presenter creates a VM in SCVMM, configures CPU and memory, attaches the proper network, creates or removes disks depending on the cache design, and then converts the VM into a template. That template is then used by the Citrix Provisioning wizard to create additional target machines.

In Citrix-supported Hyper-V automation, SCVMM is the important management layer. The Citrix Provisioning Streamed VM Setup Wizard documentation lists Hyper-V via SCVMM as one of the supported hypervisor options.

A Hyper-V deployment using SCVMM usually follows this pattern:

Create a VM in SCVMM.

Configure CPU and memory.

Attach the VM to the correct virtual switch or logical network.

Configure the boot method for PVS.

Add a cache disk if required by the selected write cache design.

Convert the VM to a template.

Create or confirm the Citrix Studio hosting connection to SCVMM.

Run the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard or Streamed VM Setup Wizard from PVS.

Create the PVS target devices and machine catalog.

Assign the vDisk and validate boot.

One important note is that the older Streamed VM Wizard has limitations. Current Citrix Provisioning documentation states that the Streamed VM Wizard does not support SCVMM Gen 2 VMs or templates and also notes that the Streamed VM Wizard utility is deprecated and will be removed in the future.

Scenario 4: XenServer

XenServer is a natural fit for Citrix environments because it has historically been closely aligned with Citrix virtualization workloads.

The process is conceptually the same as VMware or SCVMM. You create a template or source VM in XenServer, configure CPU, memory, networking, firmware, and boot behavior, and then use Citrix Provisioning tooling to create the target devices and machine catalog.

Citrix documentation lists XenServer as one of the supported platforms for the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard.

Use this scenario when the environment is built around XenServer and you want Citrix to maintain power management and catalog integration.

Scenario 5: Nutanix AHV

Nutanix AHV is a supported Citrix hosting platform, but the workflow is slightly different from traditional template-based platforms.

Citrix’s Provisioning documentation notes that Nutanix Acropolis is supported through the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard, but it uses snapshots instead of traditional VM templates.

In a Nutanix scenario, think in terms of preparing a source VM, taking a snapshot, and then using that snapshot as the source for the Citrix provisioning workflow.

Use this scenario when the VDI infrastructure is built on Nutanix AHV and the Nutanix plug-in and Citrix hosting integration are already in place.

Scenario 6: Proxmox or Other Unsupported Hypervisors

Proxmox is useful in labs and home environments, but it is not a native Citrix hosting connection in the current Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops supported host list. Because of that, it should not be treated the same way as VMware vSphere, XenServer, SCVMM, or Nutanix AHV.

In a Proxmox-based lab, the workflow would be manual.

You would manually create the VMs in Proxmox, manually configure the NICs and boot behavior, manually create the PVS target device records using the MAC addresses, manually assign the vDisk, and then add the machines to Citrix as existing machines.

This may work for study, proof-of-concept, or personal lab purposes, but it should not be documented as a standard production design unless Citrix supportability has been verified for the exact use case.

For Citrix catalog integration, existing machines still need to be added to a machine catalog. Citrix documentation states that even if machines are already available, you must still create one or more machine catalogs for those machines.

Scenario 7: Existing PVS Target Devices

Another deployment pattern is that the PVS target devices already exist. In that case, the goal is not necessarily to create new VMs from a hypervisor template. The goal is to make Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops aware of the existing PVS devices so they can be brokered to users.

Citrix now documents the Export Devices Wizard as the preferred method for adding existing Citrix Provisioning devices to a Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Delivery Controller. Citrix also notes that importing PVS target devices from Studio to create catalogs has been deprecated and removed.

Use this scenario when the VMs or physical devices already exist in PVS and you need to get them into a Citrix machine catalog.

Template Design Considerations

When creating the source VM, template, or snapshot, the goal is not to build a full independent VM with its own operating system disk. The purpose is to create a machine shell that Citrix can clone and use to boot from the PVS vDisk.

Important settings include:

CPU count.

Memory allocation.

NIC type and network placement.

Firmware type, such as BIOS or UEFI.

PXE, BDM ISO, or other PVS boot method.

Write cache disk design.

Active Directory OU placement.

Machine naming convention.

Storage location.

VDA functional level and catalog type.

For VMware, Hyper-V, and XenServer, the administrator usually thinks in terms of templates. For Nutanix AHV, the administrator usually thinks in terms of snapshots. For Proxmox or another unsupported hypervisor, the administrator should think in terms of manually created VM shells.

Write Cache Considerations

The write cache configuration matters when creating the VM template or machine shell.

Citrix documentation states that the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard discards hard disks attached to a template to minimize provisioning time. If the vDisk is configured for cache on local hard disk, the wizard provisions VMs with write cache drives and the default cache drive size is 6 GB. Citrix also notes that for ESX and Hyper-V, the Setup Wizard cannot provision VMs using hypervisor local storage for write cache in that specific scenario.

In practical terms, before running the wizard, decide how the write cache should work:

For lab environments, cache on the server may be simple but is not ideal for performance.

For production environments, cache in device RAM with overflow to local disk is usually the preferred design.

If local disk overflow is used, confirm how the wizard or hypervisor will create and attach the cache disk.

If doing a manual hypervisor workflow, make sure each VM has the required local disk before booting the target.

Recommended General Workflow

Use this process as the hypervisor-neutral version of the instructor’s SCVMM lecture.

Step 1: Confirm the vDisk Is Ready

Before building templates or catalogs, confirm that the vDisk exists, is assigned correctly, and is placed in Standard Image mode if multiple machines will boot from it.

Step 2: Decide the Deployment Method

Choose one of the following paths:

Use Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard for supported hypervisors.

Use Streamed VM Setup Wizard only if it still fits the environment and supportability requirements.

Use Export Devices Wizard for existing PVS target devices.

Use manual target device creation for unsupported hypervisors or lab-only platforms.

Step 3: Prepare the Hypervisor Template or VM Shell

Create a VM with the required CPU, memory, network, firmware, and boot behavior. For VMware and SCVMM, this generally becomes a template. For Nutanix, this generally becomes a snapshot. For Proxmox, this remains a manually created VM shell.

Step 4: Confirm the Network

The VM must be on the correct network for PVS streaming. If using PXE, DHCP options, IP helpers, or PXE services must already be working. If using BDM, the VM must have the correct BDM configuration attached or available.

Step 5: Run the Citrix Provisioning Wizard

From the Citrix Provisioning Console, run the appropriate wizard.

For most modern Citrix-integrated deployments, use the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard.

Select the Delivery Controller or Citrix Cloud option.

Select the hosting resource.

Select the template or snapshot.

Select the vDisk.

Choose the machine naming pattern.

Choose the number of machines.

Choose the Active Directory OU.

Choose or create the machine catalog.

Complete the wizard.

Step 6: Create or Update the Delivery Group

After the machine catalog exists, create or update the delivery group so users can launch the provisioned desktops or applications.

Step 7: Validate the Deployment

Power on a test machine and confirm:

The VM boots from the network or BDM.

The correct vDisk is assigned.

The write cache is created in the expected location.

The VDA registers with the Delivery Controller.

The machine appears healthy in Studio.

A test user can launch the desktop.

The desktop behaves normally after reboot.

Troubleshooting Notes

If the VM does not boot, verify the NIC, boot order, PXE or BDM configuration, and PVS target device MAC address.

If the device boots but does not find the vDisk, verify the target device record, vDisk assignment, and collection membership.

If the machine appears in PVS but not in Studio, confirm that the machine catalog was created or that the devices were exported correctly.

If the VM powers on but never registers, validate the VDA installation, Delivery Controller registration, DNS, firewall rules, time sync, and domain trust.

If the write cache disk is missing, review the selected write cache mode and confirm whether the wizard was expected to create the disk automatically.

If using Proxmox or another unsupported platform, do not expect Citrix power management or automated catalog creation to behave like VMware, SCVMM, XenServer, or Nutanix.

Conclusion

The instructor’s SCVMM process is useful as a lab example, but the real concept is broader than SCVMM.

The main takeaway is that after the PVS vDisk is ready, you need a deployment method that creates or identifies machines, gives them the correct virtual hardware, connects them to the right network, assigns the PVS vDisk, creates Active Directory computer accounts, and places the machines into a Citrix machine catalog and delivery group.

For VMware vSphere, use vCenter and the Citrix hosting connection.

For Hyper-V, use SCVMM if you want Citrix-supported automation.

For XenServer, use the Citrix-supported XenServer hosting workflow.

For Nutanix AHV, use snapshots and the Nutanix-supported Citrix integration.

For Proxmox or unsupported hypervisors, treat the deployment as manual and likely unmanaged from a Citrix power management perspective.