I have increasingly seen customers turn to zero clients when deploying Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop, or VMware View. Personally, I have used the Samsung NC190 on VMware View deployments and the Wyse Xenith C00x zero clients on Citrix deployments and both have been easy to setup and manage. I like the Teridici Management Console for the PCoIP clients and Citrix XenDesktop includes a Wyse Xenith Manager but I have not worked with it much so I can’t offer an opinion. However, much, if not all, of the configuration of the Wyse Xenith can be done through DHCP and when combined with a customization file (xen.ini) stored on a web server, all that’s involved in delivering a Citrix desktop is to connect it the network and power it on.

In this post, I’ll go over the steps to configure the DHCP options to allow for an “instant-on” experience. In part 2, I’ll go over registering the IIS extensions.

Configuring the DHCP Server

The first step is configuring the DHCP server as the Xenith clients make use of DHCP options 161, 162, and 181. DHCP options 161 and 162 to implement the xen.ini file which enables you to automatically set the default configuration of all Wyse Xenith thin clients in your environment.

DHCP option 181 is used to specify the Citrix Web Interface URL which allows a network connected Wyse Xenith to automatically detect the location of the XenDesktop/XenApp server where a user can log on and access their desktop. Without an automatic detection set-up, an administrator must enter the address locally on the thin client using the Remote Connections dialog box.

1. Open the DHCP admin MMC, then right-click your DHCP server and select Set Predefined Options

2. On the Predefined Options and Values window, set the Option class to DHCP Standard Options and then click Add.

3. In the Option Type dialog box, enter the Name, Data Type (String), Code (181), and Description. Click OK.

4. When returned to the Predefined Options and Values screen, enter http://YOURCTXWEBINTERFACE for the String value and click OK.

5. Before adding options 161 and 162, copy the xen.ini file to a central location which the Wyse thin client have access. I have copied the file to my Citrix Web Interface server after creating a Wyse virtual directory with the path C:\inetpub\wwwroot\wyse. However, the xen.ini file was copied to C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\wyse\wnos as I believe, if memory serves, this is the default path for the Xenith clients.

6. Return to the Predefined Options and Values window, and verify the Option class to DHCP Standard Options and then click Add. In the Option Type dialog box, enter the Name, Data Type (String), Code (161), and Description. Click OK.

7. When returned to the Predefined Options and Values screen, enter http://YOURCTXWEBINTERFACE for the String value and click OK.

8. Create another option for 162. In the Option Type dialog box, enter the Name, Data Type (String), Code (162), and Description. Click OK.

9. When returned to the Predefined Options and Values screen, enter / for the String value and click OK.

10. Finally, enable these new options on a Scope or Server level as shown below:

That’s all for the DHCP Configuration, in the next post will look at setting the required MIME types on the default web site to ensure the Xenith clients can access the xen.ini file.