Pano Express HA - System Requirements

Required Components/Settings for Installation

The default Pano Express HA setup process assumes that your deployment has certain network and peripheral components available in addition to the contents of your Pano Express HA.  

VDI Infrastructure: for the default installation you need to have the following:

  1. Local Area Network: Ethernet LAN connections of 100 Mb/s or better - optimally a switched 100 Mb/s switched Ethernet network for the Pano Devices connected to a 1 Gb/s Ethernet backbone for the Pano Express server and your other file servers. 
  2. Network Ports and Cables: at least two and preferably four open Gigabit ports are needed for the Pano Express HA servers.  You will also need to supply four Ethernet Cat-5e or Cat-6 cables long enough to reach from your LAN switches to the back of the Pano Express HA servers.
  3. File Server: because only limited space is available for each desktop virtual machine's (DVM's) image (around 12 GB per DVM) and to ensure that user files are correctly backed up you should provide a separate file server for storage of user files.  Often you can use group policies set either inside the DVM's OS or via Active Directory to use folder redirection to make the My Documents (under XP) or Documents (under Windows 7) appear to be a local folder (inside the user's DVM) while actually storing them on the file server.
  4. IP Subnet and Network Info:  All components of Pano Express HA must be on a routable network. The Pano Manager virtual machines must be on the same broadcast domain in order to support failover. You will need to collect the subnet mask, the IP addresses for your primary DNS server and your default gateway, and the DNS domain name to which the ESXi hosts will be joined.
  5. DHCP Service: Pano devices require customer supplied DHCP Services. It is strongly recommended that you also run DHCP Services for virtual desktop machines to simplify provisioning
  6. Static IP Addresses: Eight static IP addresses must be reserved for the following:
    1. Two static IP addresses for the ESXi hosts
    2. One for the VMware vCenter Server VM
    3. Two for the Pano Manager VMs
    4. One for the Pano Manager failover group
    5. Two for the DataCore virtual appliances
       
  7. Directory Service: (optional) a directory service like Microsoft Active Directory is optional for Pano Express HA but strongly recommended and required for user-based features and authentication.  The Pano System also supports other directory services (see [HelpTopic:Supported Directory Services]).  The default  installation doesn't use a directory service and it can be used without one but with limitations - see the  [HelpTopic:Limitations of Pano Manager without Active Directory] for more information.
  8. Server Power Requirements: The servers are configured with 2 redundant 450W power supplies. The power supplies automatically configure themselves to the main voltage (100-120V or 200- 240V). To ensure maximum up-time, you can connect each power supply to a separate power source.
  9. Server Peripherals: a VGA-compatible monitor and a USB keyboard will be needed briefly during the server configuration in Step 5. A mouse is not needed. These peripherals can be removed once the server configuration process is completed
  10. Windows Workstation: a Windows XP or 7 PC or laptop connected to the same network as the servers will also be needed to run the vSphere Client software during the server configuration in Step 5.

Client Peripherals/Hardware:  for each Pano Zero Client, the following will be required where it is being installed:

  1. An AC power outlet for the Pano Zero Client power supply
  2. A 100 Mb/s or better Ethernet connection.
  3. A monitor with a recommended resolution of at least 1024x768 - for information on compatible monitor resolutions please see [HelpTopic:Supported Monitor Resolutions].
  4. A USB keyboard and mouse - for information on compatible USB devices please see [HelpTopic:Supported USB Devices] .

Power Protection: Each of the two Pano Express HA servers needs to be provided with continuous, well-regulated AC power.  We recommend that you connect them to an appropriately sized Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) to ensure that momentary power drops or voltage sags do not cause an outage or even potential damage to the servers.  This is especially critical when deployed in areas with frequent thunderstorms or brown-outs.  Please refer to the Pano Express HA datasheet for information on server power consumption ranges in order to correctly size your UPS devices.

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