Install Citrix XenApp 6 Fundamentals Edition for Windows Server 2008 R2

I get this question all the time, sometimes from random people on the street: "Hey, Powercram guy, how do I install XenApp 6 Fundamentals on Windows Server 2008 R2?" Or "What are the prerequisites for XenApp 6 Fundamentals on Windows 2008 R2?" Or this one, "Can I install XenApp 6 Fundamentals on regular Windows 2008 - not R2?" Or my favorite, "How do I upgrade previous versions of XenApp Fundamentals to XenApp 6?"

Summary

• Start with fresh install of Windows 2008 R2
• NO Windows Updates - NO .NET 4
• Enable .NET 3.5.1 SP1 (in Server Manager, Add Roles)
• Other necessary roles will be installed by XenApp installation as necessary
• Launch installer as administrator

I've gotten so tired of these questions from strangers I'm going to lay it all out here, and refer people to my blog to answer these age-old questions.  Well, actually the questions are fairly recent as XenApp 6 Fundamentals For Windows 2008 R2 was only released last month - December, 2010.  And, there's the answer to one of those questions - XenApp 6 Fundamentals can ONLY be installed on Windows 2008 R2.  Period.

Let's back up a little.  The Citrix XenApp 6 Fundamentals Edition for Windows Server 2008 R2 Administrator's Guide is a good place to start and contains some of the information herein.  However, there are a couple things learned only from experience here as well.  This is intended to be a guide to get you started in the right direction, provide some additional info and some things to watch out for.

First, XenApp 6 Fundamentals can only be installed on Windows 2008 R2, and it must be a fresh install - no upgrades from other Windows versions, and no other version of XenApp can be upgraded to version 6.  I can't stress this enough, you MUST start with a fresh install of Windows 2008 R2.  Oh, and NO Windows Updates.  Namely DO NOT install .NET 4 on this server - XenApp 6 will fail.

Next, enable .NET Framework 3.5.1.  This can be done in Server Manager, Add Features.  As stated before, DO NOT install .NET 4.

Finally, insert DVD or launch either autorun.exe or setup.exe (located in W2k8 folder, or XAF_6_0_0_ML_dvd\W2k8 if you just expanded the ISO [XAF_6_0_0_ML_dvd.iso] as I did).  **Make sure to launch installer as Administrator (right-click, Run As Administrator.  If you don't do this the install will fail with a cryptic message referring to the file C:\Users\powercram\AppData\Local\Citrix\<some_citrix_file>.txt with entries saying it failed.  These are the two I had, which I couldn't find anywhere on the 'net:

• Failed to configure component 'Citrix Licensing'
• Recording installation failure from component 'Citrix Licensing'

Additional notes (answers to other questions):

• If you decide to uninstall for whatever reason you MUST start all over including installing Windows 2008 R2 afresh.
• You CANNOT upgrade an older version of XenApp Fundamentals to XenApp Fundamentals 6.  You must start with a new installation, then migrate to the new environment.
• Do NOT install XenApp 6 Fundamentals Edition on a domain controller.

There seem to be plenty of resources (including the above referenced administrator guide) which have details on the installation from here.  I just wanted to help people get to that point.

why the xenapp 6 fundamentals edition installer fails