[THIN] Citrix Disaster Recovery Assistance required

  • From: Angela Smith <angela_smith9@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:23:30 +1100

Hi

Im looking at upgrading our Citrix farm to incorporate DR capability which is 
currently lacking.  We have a 1Gb link between the 2 sites in the same city.  I 
was looking at implementing the following:

Primary Site (Site 1)
2 x Web Interface Servers using Windows Network Load Balancing (VMWare Virtual 
Server)    
1 x Dedicated Zone Data Collector (VMWare Virtual Server)    
10 x Citrix Presentation Server 4 (Physical Servers)
1 x SQL Server for Datastore (VMWare Virtual Server)
1 x File Server for Citrix Roaming Profiles and File Store (Physical Server)
1 x MS Print Server (VMWare Virtual Server)

DR + Secondary Site (Site 2)
1 x Web Interface (VMWare Virtual Server)
1 x Backup Zone Data Collector (VMWare Virtual Server)
10 x Citrix Presentation Server 4 (Physical Server)
1 x SQL Server for Datastore (backup only)
1 x File Server for Citrix Roaming Profiles and File Store (backup only)
1 x MS Print Server (VMWare Virtual Server - backup only)

We are running Citrix Presentation Server 4/Windows 2003.  File Server and SQL 
datastore data are replicated between both sites.  All Citrix Servers will use 
the File Server in Site 1 but we need to ensure Citrix Servers are load 
balanced across both sites. Can the following be achieved: 

1) I need to build redundancy so if Site 1 is down, all users can connect to 
Site 2 automatically (its acceptable if they need to logout/login). Can this be 
achieved using Citrix PNAgent and Web Interface clients?  Do we need to 
implement DNS changes or can the failover be automatic?
2) We want to ensure Citrix users in Site 1 connect to Citrix Server in Site 1 
and users in Site 2 connect to Citrix Servers in Site 2.  Will zone preference 
and failover settings achieve this?
3) Is one Zone sufficient or should I have a zone for each site?

Can anyone suggest any best practices / links to guides for such an 
implementation or better ways to implement such a solution.  I need to ensure 
the DR solution is as seamless as possible.

Thanks




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