In XenServer, fixed data drives show as removable data drives to BitLocker

In XenServer, fixed data drives show as removable data drives to BitLocker

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Article ID: CTX583997

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Updated On:

Description

BitLocker incorrectly reports that XenVbd disks are 'Removable data drives' and suggests that you use BitLocker To Go with them. However, the physical hardware and emulated NVMe drives show as 'Fixed data drives' and suggest that you use BitLocker.

Some Group Policy settings might get confused by this difference and treat XenVbd disks as removable, applying more stringent checks (for example, disallowing removable disks or requiring removable disks be mounted as read-only).

Environment

Caution! Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that might require you to reinstall your operating system. Citrix cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. Be sure to back up the registry before you edit it.

Resolution

To have these drives correctly show up as fixed data drives in your Windows VM, you must set registry keys and a VBD property:

  1. Set the following registry keys in your Windows VM:

     

    HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\XenBus\Parameters\VBD\AllowPdoRemove = 0
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\XenBus\Parameters\VBD\AllowPdoEject = 0

     

  2. In XenServer, run the following xe command to set the property unpluggable on the VBD:

     

    xe vbd-param-set uuid=<vbd-uuid> unpluggable=false

     

These settings change which Group Policies are applied to the disk, especially the "Mark non-BitLocker enabled removable disks as read-only" and "Disallow removable disks" policies, and similar settings enforced by 3rd party security software.

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