MWLUG 2016 Presentation

1. IBM Notes in the Cloud
Deploying Notes on Zero Clients within VMware View and
Streamed via Microsoft RemoteApp

2. Stephen Beagles
Prominic.NET
Systems Administrator
Stephen@Prominic.NET
IBM Certified Advanced System Administrator – Notes and Domino 9.0
Microsoft Certified Professional
Avid Craft Beer Brewer

4. Solutions and a Team You Can Trust

5. • Goals for this presentation:
1) Outline the benefits of deploying Notes in VMware View and
Microsoft RemoteApp environments
2) Provide a 10,000 foot view of the infrastructures needed to deploy
and support both technologies
3) Provide guidance on Notes client installation and tips for ensuring
optimal performance on both platforms

6. Two Different Approaches
VMware View Workstations on Zero Clients
- Full virtualized workstations
- Good approach if your Notes use is part of a documented workflow that
depends upon multiple pieces of software
- Secure access accomplished through Zero client deployment
Microsoft RemoteApp
- Individual streamed applications
- Good approach if your needs are limited to the Notes client and one or two
other applications
- Secure access to the Notes client from multiple platforms and OSs

7. • Who this presentation can benefit most:
– Administrators looking for new ways to deliver the Notes client
and reduce support overhead
– Managers looking to reduce infrastructure complexity or total
cost of ownership (TCO)
– Security personnel looking to centrally manage and safeguard
company data

8. • Administrative benefits
– Consistent Notes versioning
– Remotely troubleshoot Notes clients with ease
– Critical Notes client DBs are stored on redundant file systems

9. • Investment Management benefits
– Reduced Support hours needed to support the Notes
deployment on individual physical machines
– Workstation Hardware refresh cycle lengthened
– Workstation power use greatly reduced as load is on the
server, not the local PC.

10. • Security Benefits
– Minimizes the risk of devices with critical business data from
walking off site
– Centrally managed servers, virtual machines, and software
greatly reduces overall attack surface
– Remote session protocols are encrypted and minimize man-in-
the-middle attacks

11. VMware View Environment

12. vSphere View – Infrastructure and Client VMs

13. • View Server Roles
– Composer: Server responsible for preparing workstation VMs for
end user use. Tracks linked clone usage.
– Connection: Brokers sessions between an end point (zero client) and
the workstation VM host
– Transfer: Facilitates the transfer of a workstation VM from the
primary Host to a local PC – great for offline work
– Security: Handles connections from the public Internet to the
Connection server

14. – vCenter Server
• Powerful management tool
• Allows you to manage VMs residing on multiple ESXi Hosts.
• Also facilitates deployment of Windows VMs and ESXi Host
maintenance tasks.
• Can be run within a Windows Server OS or as a virtual appliance (as in
our demo environment pictured previously – minimal SUSE OS).
– vCloud Usage Meter
• Necessary for VMware to accurately track usage statistics to be used in
billing and licensing
– Windows Active Directory
Other Components

15. Resource Use and Allocation per Server
ESXi Virtualization Hosts
- 4GB RAM per 64-bit Windows Workstation recommended at a minimum
- 15MB to 60MB extra RAM per Workstation necessary if using PCoIP @ 1080p
- 2 vCPUs are recommended for each 64-bit Workstations using PCoIP
- Between 10 and 20 IOPS generated by each Workstation / Notes use
Connection Server
- 4GB of RAM minimum / 10GB for 50+ Workstations Recommended
- 1 Gbps Network Connectivity Recommended
- IE7-9 / Firefox 3-3.5 to Utilize local View Administrator portal
vCenter / View Composer Servers
- 4GB of RAM / 2 vCPU recommended for environments between 1 - 2000 VMs
- 1 Gbps Network Connectivity Recommended

16. PCoIP Zero Clients

17. Benefits of thin / zero client and streamed application use
• http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/benefits-of-using-thin-and-
zero-client-69497/
• http://www.devonit.com/thin-client-education/benefits-of-
using-thin-clients
• http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-return-of-the-
thin-client
• http://breakingdefense.com/2015/04/thin-clients-persistent-
threats-coping-with-the-new-cyber-dangers/

18. Protocol Route Differences – PCoIP / RDP / HTTPS

19. Preparing the View Virtual Workstations
1) Create a new Virtual Machine with required specifications
2) Install the Enterprise version of Windows that you want to utilize
3) Install the Notes client using the typical Single-user install method along
with any other mission-critical software
4) Make sure the Networking for the workstation is set to use DHCP
5) Install the View Agent – this allows the vCenter and Connection servers to
use this template and communicate with any VMs created from it

20. View Administrator – Web Based Management

21. View Administrator – Web Based Management
Available VM Pools

22. View Administrator – Web Based Management
Virtualized Workstations

23. View Administrator – Web Based Management
View Composer – Refresh, Recompose, and Rebalance

24. Zero Client End User Experience
Zero Client Boot

25. Zero Client End User Experience
Post-Connection to View

26. Zero Client End User Experience
Available Virtual Workstations Listed

27. Zero Client End User Experience
Successful Authentication - Connecting to VM

28. Zero Client End User Experience
Moments later … Notes Open and Working!

29. • Great tool for ensuring data redundancy and quick return to production after a
workstation refresh or recompose
– Easily deployable link library and settings via Domino policy
– Allows users to backup and roam critical databases from a centralized
source -- file system or Domino server database
– Also enables you to configure a nearly endless amount of Notes and
Eclipse settings, even those resistant to Domino policy
Check out our video demonstrating MarvelClient in action:
https://vimeo.com/prominic/marvelclientdemo

30. – Mixing Folder Redirection with VMware’s Persistent Disks can present
issues
– Some editions of VMware’s Horizon View offer Persona Management,
another alternative
– Remote Assistance can be configured within Active Directory GP to
ensure your IT support can quickly access each workstation
– A KMS server should be virtualized and configured to provide adequate
Windows licensing for each workstation VM
Other Considerations
Next up, Microsoft’s RemoteApp …

31. Microsoft RemoteApp Infrastructure

32. – Gateway: Public-facing, negotiates sessions
– Broker: Maintains user / Session Host sessions
– Session Host: Houses published applications
– File Server: Primary storage for user profile disks
– SQL Server: Necessary for High-availability clustering
Microsoft Server Roles

33. Resource Use and Allocation per Server
Session Hosts
- Each Notes user utilizes a minimum of 170MB of RAM
- Maximum of 10 users per physical CPU core
- Minimum of 500 kb/s of networking utilization (SH <-> FS) per user
File Servers
- Each user session generates 10 IOPS at a minimum
- Initiating a user’s session generates at least 200 IOPS
Gateway
- 1000 connections / second feasible with at least 6 Mb/s connectivity
- Network throughput is key
Broker
- Similar network requirements to Gateway
- Solid connectivity to SQL servers key in HA environments

34. Installing and Publishing Notes
Step 1: Execute the Notes 9.0.1 installer and unpack the installation
resources to a local directory on each Session Host

35. Installing and Publishing Notes
Step 2: Open up a Command Prompt in the directory with the Notes
installation resources and enter the following string:
setup.exe /s /v”SETMULTIUSER=1 MULTIUSERBASEDIR=!USERPROFILE!
MULTIUSERCOMMONDIR=”C:Program Files (x86)IBMNotes” CITRIX=1″

36. Installing and Publishing Notes
Step 3: Complete the Notes installation wizard as usual
NOTE: If the options took hold, you should not see any
reference to the location of the Data directory at this step!

37. Installing and Publishing Notes
Step 4: Use Server Manager to Create an App collection and Publish

38. Installing and Publishing Notes
Step 5: Validate the Published Applications are Visible in RD Web Access

39. • Methods for accessing streamed applications:
– RDWeb Gateway Site
– Work Resources integration (Windows workstation)
– Official Microsoft Remote Desktop app (OS X and Mobile)

40. Web Access
https://gateway.domain.tld/RDWeb

41. Web Access on MacOS
Admin on MacOS!

42. Web Access on MacOS

43. Work Resource Integration

44. Work Resource Integration

45. Work Resource Integration

46. MacOS – Remote Desktop App

47. Administration via Server Manager
An all-in-one tool to monitor and administrate

48. Simplified Notes Client Patching

49. Simplified Notes Client Patching
10 to 10,000 User Clients Patched in as long as
it takes to apply the Fix Pack!

50. Thank You!
If you have questions or interest in utilizing
either technology, please contact us!
Sales@Prominic.NET
1.877.736.8932
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