Citrix Provisioning/XenDesktop Bingo!

Where is the synergy?  A Citrix VDI solution consisting of XenDesktop VMs being provisioned by Citrix Provisioning Services.  Citrix has provided me with a Provisioning Services console and a Desktop Delivery Console and no easy way to see the complete solution.

I recently rolled out a new vDisk to a bunch of XenDesktop VMs and realized just what a pain in the ass these two interfaces present to the administrator as the environment grows.

From the Provisioning server console, I can assign new vDisks to the machines and see if they are running or not.  If a machine is running, it will need a bounce to begin using the new vDisk.  But wait, are anyone using them?  I can’t tell from here; Off to the Desktop Delivery Console with my list of machines that need rebooting.

From the Desktop Delivery Console, I can see that the machine is up and if it is in use or not.  If it is IDLE, I can bounce it and have it reboot cleanly with the new vDisk assignment.

Kind of annoying to me to have to go back and forth between consoles for a single vendor solution.  I wish there was an add-on for at least one of the two parts that would give me a more complete picture. (Something like below would be a great start. )