Step 3 - Setup and Configure Server

I. Prepare for Setup of Pano Express for SMB/Education

Preparing for setup of the Pano Express server requires just a few straightforward steps:

  1. Unbox the Pano Express server and either install it into an open 1U spaces in your server rack or place it on a secure table or workbench near a power outlet.  You'll need to have access to the Ethernet ports on the back of the server and room to setup a Windows workstation and monitor next to it so if necessary you can wait to actually install it into your rack until later.
  2. Connect the server to AC power but don't power on the server yet.
  3. Connect the server to your LAN switch using a Gigabit port.  If you have redundant switches you can connect a port on the second switch to the other port on the back of the Pano Express server.
  4. Setup a single Windows workstation (desktop PC or laptop) near the server - it will be used run the vSphere Client software to configure the system VMs on the servers. Once this setup process has completed you can disconnect it as future maintenance tasks can typically be done from any Windows session including a Pano Zero Client.
  5. Finally, power on the Pano Express server to begin the configuration process.  The servers may take a few minutes to start up so please be patient!

II. Configure Server for your LAN

When the server is powered on the following configuration and licensing steps need to be followed:

  1. Wait until the server has finished booting up.  Be patient - remember this may take 8 minutes or more.
  2. Change the ESXi host IP address.  NOTE: This IP must be set to static to limit potential system issues at a later date.  Using the monitor, keyboard that you attached to the server in the prior step, execute the steps below to configure static IP settings from the console: (see VMware KB 1006710 for more details)
    1. Press F2 to examine the default configuration.
    2. When prompted for username and password use the below
      • Username: root
      • Password: (no password)
    3. Press the down-arrow key to choose “Configuring the Management Network” and press Enter.
    4. Press the down-arrow key to choose IP Configuration and press Enter.
    5. Press the down-arrow key to choose Set static IP address and network configuration and press the spacebar.
    6. Press the down-arrow key to choose IP Address.
    7. Press the backspace key to clear the current IP address, then enter a new IP address.
    8. Press the down-arrow key to choose Subnet Mask.
    9. Press the backspace key to delete the current Subnet Mask, then enter a new Subnet Mask.
    10. Press the down-arrow key to choose Default Gateway.
    11. Press the backspace key to delete the existing Default Gateway, then enter a new Default Gateway.
  3. Setup vCenter and Hosts.  NOTE: This IP must be set to static to limit potential system issues at a later date.
    1. Using the vSphere client on the Windows host setup in Step 2, connect to the ESXi host using the IP address specified in above step.
      1. Open the vSphere client.
      2. Under computer name enter the IP set in the above step.
      3. Under username enter root and no password.
      4. Once connected to the host find the VM named “Pano-vCenter” right click on the host and select open console.
      5. Once the console window opens hit Ctrl+Alt +Insert or select “VM > Guest > Send Ctrl+Alt+Del from the menu bar.
      6. You will now be presented with a Windows logon screen use the below to login
        • Username: Administrator
        • Password: Passw0rd
      7. Once logged in to windows Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Use Ctrl+Alt to release the cursor.
      8. In Control Panel, verify that Classic View is selected in the upper-right corner, and then double-click Network and Sharing Center.
      9. In the Network and Sharing Center, in Tasks, click Manage Network Connections.
      10. In Network Connections, right-click the network connection that you want to configure, and then click Properties.
      11. In Local Area Connection Properties, in This connection uses the following items, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and then click Properties. The Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties dialog box opens.
      12. In Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties, on the General tab, click Use the following IP address. In IP address, type the IP address that you want to use.
      13. Press tab to place the cursor in Subnet mask. A default value for subnet mask is entered automatically. Either accept the default subnet mask, or type the subnet mask that you want to use.
      14. In Default gateway, type the IP address of your default gateway.
      15. In Preferred DNS server, type the IP address of your DNS server. If you plan to use the local computer as the preferred DNS server, type the IP address of the local computer.
      16. In Alternate DNS Server, type the IP address of your alternate DNS server, if any. If you plan to use the local computer as an alternate DNS server, type the IP address of the local computer.
      17. Click OK, and then click Close.
      18. Restart the VM by clicking Start > Restart
    2. Reconnect to vCenter - Once the Pano- vCenter VM has been restarted connect to the vCenter VM using the vSphere client on the Windows workstation setup in the first step above:
      1. Open the vSphere client
      2. Use the below information to connect
        • IP Address / Name: use the IP address set in the above step
        • Username: Administrator
        • Password: Passw0rd
    3. Connect vCenter to ESXi - Once logged in to vCenter via the vSphere client you must create the datacenter, connect the vCenter server to the ESXi host and license both nodes items:
      1. Go to Home > Inventory > Hosts and Clusters.
      2. Select File > New > Datacenter  or click Create a  datacenter.
      3. Give the datacenter a desired name
        • NOTE: a datacenter is a group of hosts or VMware clusters - some people refer to them as locations all managed by the same vCenter server.
      4. To add a host (the ESXi server you assigned an IP address to in the above step) Select Home > Inventory > Hosts and Clusters
      5. Select a the datacenter you created above and Select File > New > Add Host
      6. Enter host name or IP address of the ESXi host you set above
      7. Enter the user name and password of the ESXi host
      8. If this was left default use the below
        • Username: root
        • Password: (no password)
      9. Click Next and Review host information and click Next again
      10. Select a location where you want to place virtual machines that already exist on the host and click next. (this can be left default)
  4. VMware Licensing - In this step you'll assign VMware licenses to the ESXi host and vCenter:
    1. As a first step you’ll need to download your vSphere Essentials license keys from the VMware website. To download the keys do the following: :
      1. Log into the vSphere License portal (at https://www.vmware.com/account/login.do) using your VMware.com account credentials.
      2. If you currently do not have a VMware account use the register button located on the right side of the page to create a new account with VMware.
      3. During the pre-order process you were emailed a link by your reseller that directed you to the Pano Logic's website “Consent-and-Acknowledgement” page where you filled out licensing contact information. Use the same information entered on that Pano Logic website page to register for your VMware.com account credentials.
      4. Once logged in click on Manage Product Licenses in the Manage VMware Orders & Support section and then navigate to Product License Keys.
      5. Locate the VMware vSphere 5 Essentials product for the license key(s) to download
      6. Expand the product name and click the "Download" button
    2. Once you have obtained your VMware vSphere 5 and vCenter 5 licenses keys launch the vSphere client and connect to vCenter:
      1. Open the vSphere client
      2. Use the below information to connect:
        • IP Address / Name: the host name or IP address of your vCenter server set above
        • Username: Administrator
        • Password: Passw0rd
      3. Click Home. Under the Administration section, click the Licensing icon.
      4. Click Manage vSphere Licenses.
      5. Enter the License Key in the Enter new vSphere license keys field (one per line).
      6. Include labels for new license keys as necessary.
      7. Click Add License Keys.
      8. After clicking Add License Keys, you can review the license keys you added, capacity counts, expiration dates, and labels associated with the license keys.
      9. Click Next to assign the license keys.
      10. Once in the Assigning License Keys section of the “Manage vSphere Licenses” wizard, select the radio button “Show Unlicensed assets”.
      11. Below under the ESX tab you will see an unlicensed host, select the license key you just ended for this host then select the vCenter tab and do the same for the unlicensed vCenter host.
      12. Click next until the “Manage vSphere Licenses” wizard closes.
      13. You should now see that both your host and vCenter products are assigned in the “Licensing Management” pane.
  5. Microsoft Windows Server Licensing - in this step you'll retrieve your Microsoft product keys for the Windows Server 2008 R2 VM hosting vCenter:
    1. When licensing Microsoft products in a virtual environment you must integrate a specific type of license that requires you (the end user) to enter into an agreement with Microsoft, if you do not already have an agreement in place. As part of the Pano Express a Windows Server 2008 license is included. The steps below will guide you in retrieving your license keys and entering/activating them per the Microsoft EULA (End User License Agreement).
    2. You will receive an email from Microsoft sent to the email address you’ve designated as your licensing contact.
      • NOTE: this email will only go to the designated licensing contact specified during the order process via Pano Logic’s website and sometimes can get caught in spam filters.
    3. Once completed, the designated licensing contact will receive another email from Microsoft informing them that their license keys have been generated with a link to gain access to their Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard product keys.
      • NOTE: this email will only go to the designated licensing contact specified during the order process via Pano Logic’s website and sometimes can get caught in spam filters.
      • NOTE: you MUST follow these steps in order to receive the Windows Server product keys purchased with Pano Express.
    4. You can then activate the Windows Server 2008 R2 VM holding vCenter Server within the allotted time specified by Microsoft (roughly 60 days).  Active Windows Server via the following steps:
      1. Login into the VM named “Pano- vCenter”.
      2. Select Start and type "Activate" and then select the "Activate Windows" program.
      3. Enter the product key in the next dialog and click on the Activate button.
      4. After a period of communicating with Microsoft's activation servers the Windows Server VM will be activated.
  6. Configure Pano Controller via the following steps:
    1. Connect to the console port of the Pano Controller virtual appliance or VM and set the root and administrator credentials. Choose the DHCP for dynamic addressing or static IP to configure a static IP address [HelpTopic:Change Pano Client Discovery Method]
    2. Launch the Pano Controller GUI by entering the [IP Address]/admin.jsp in a browser.
    3. Setup your Microsoft Active Directory service [HelpTopic:Connect Pano Controller To Directory Services–VMware]
    4. Configure your virtualization settings for vCenter Server [HelpTopic:Connect Pano Controller To vCenter Server]
    5. Configure backup settings [HelpTopic:Configure Backup Manager]
  7. Configure a master Desktop Virtual Machine (DVM) Template in vCenter:
    1. Upload ISO images of the installation media for Windows XP (32-bit) and/or Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit) to the server.
    2. Right-click the DataStore link and select the desired data store.
    3. Create a new desktop VM for Windows XP or Windows 7 [HelpTopic:Create Desktop Virtual Machines in vSphere Client] and map a virtual CD-ROM drive to the ISO images  for Windows XP or Windows 7 as appropriate.
    4. Install Windows and apply optimizations as detailed in the help [HelpTopic:Install Windows]
    5. In vSphere, right-click the new VM and select Guest > Install/Update Tools to install the VMware Tools.
    6. Delete the WDDM driver and install the XPDM driver. [ HelpTopic:Install Supported Display Driver (Windows 7 only)]
    7. Install the Pano Direct Service in the Windows DVM [HelpTopic:Install Pano Direct]
    8. For automated deployment, setup a vCenter customization specification file [HelpTopic:Create Guest Customization Specification]
  8. Setup DVM Collections via the following steps:
    1. Login to the Pano Controller VM at http://[Pano Controller IP Address]/admin.jsp [HelpTopic:Log On To Pano Controller]
    2. Create DVM Collections per your User Survey and Site Assessment requirements (User or Device-Based) [HelpTopic:Create and Manage DVM Collections]
    3. Reference the master template for the Windows DVM and vCenter customization specification files from step 10 above.
III. Finish Preparing Your Server

Once you've completed the setup process a few more steps are needed with your Pano Express server:

  1. If you didn't do so earlier, install the Pano Express server into your wiring closet or data center rack after first powering it down.
  2. You can disconnect the setup Windows workstation you used for the setup process and redeploy it as needed. 
  3. Power the server back on if it is not already running - again, please be patient as it may again take 8 minutes or more to fully start up all of the server's software components.

You can now move on to the next step and start deploying Pano Zero Clients on your production LAN, connecting them to monitors, keyboards and mice and testing connectivity to the Pano Express server.

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