When I started using XenServer to host Virtual Machines I was checking on VMs using a Windows system. With a Windows system it's easy to download & install XenCenter to get a visual solution for VM management as well as performance metrics.

After moving to a Linux desktop distro on my laptop I was faced with the struggle of finding an alternative. There are solutions out there, some are free to use but lack key features, others are feature rich but require a paid subscription to unlock said features.

To keep myself working with familiar software I decided to attempt to get XenCenter to work on Linux through Wine.

Known Issues Link to heading

  • No SSL functionality
  • Cannot open "Properties" menu for a Virtual Machine
  • High likelihood of application crashing when using the "VM Console"

How To Link to heading

  • Install dependencies to local system
[stuart@asuka ~]$ sudo dnf install cabextract
[stuart@asuka ~]$ wine_dir=~/.wine32-xen
  • Create fresh 32-bit wine directory
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEARCH=win32 WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir winecfg

[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir wine ~/Downloads/cleanup_tool.exe
  • Install msxml3 (Recommended to do before installing .NET 4.0 on WineHQ)
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir winetricks msxml3
  • Install .NET 4.5
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir winetricks dotnet45 corefonts
  • Install .NET 4.0 with winetricks
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir winetricks dotnet40 corefonts
  • Install .NET 3.5 SP1 w/ dependencies
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir winetricks dotnet35sp1
  • Install gdiplus
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir winetricks gdiplus
  • Install XenCenter
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir wine ~/Downloads/XenCenterSetup.exe
  • Run XenCenter
[stuart@asuka ~]$ WINEPREFIX=$wine_dir wine "C:\\Program Files\Citrix\XenCenter\XenCenter.exe"

Note: When connecting to a server, add :80 to the end to bypass SSL issues with connection