Entitle Applications in Azure Virtual Desktop

To entitle applications in Azure Virtual Desktop, you must create a host pool and an application group associated with each host pool. The App attach packages and application groups must be assigned to user and user groups.

Additionally, App attach packages must also be assigned to host pools.

Prerequisite

Configure App Volumes Manager Integration with Azure Virtual Desktop

Procedure

1. In the Azure portal, search for Host pools and click Host pools.

2. Click Create.

3. In the Create a host pool wizard, enter the required information and finish creating the host pool.

   Note:

   • Validation environment must be set to Yes.
   • Ensure that you select Host pool type as Pooled.

4. Configure the session host with App Volumes agent.

   Azure Virtual Desktop supports different types of identities depending on which configuration you choose. For more information about these identities, see this Microsoft documentation, Supported identities and authentiction methods.

   1. Create a virtual machine for App Volumes agent.

      Note: Ensure that you use a multi-session image to create the virtual machine.

      To deploy App Volumes in Azure, App Volumes agent must be installed in a virtual machine created in the Azure platform. This virtual machine must use the virtual network created and reside in the same region as the virtual network.

      For multi-session recommendations, see the Microsoft documentation about virtual machine sizing guidelines.

   2. To return to a clean snapshot whenever required, take a snapshot of the virtual machine.

   3. Customize the virtual machine by installing App Volumes agent.

      For the install procedure, see the Install App Volumes Agent section in the Omnissa App Volumes Install Guide at Omnissa Product Documentation.

   4. Take another snapshot of this virtual machine.

      This step ensures that we have the snapshot of the golden image.

   5. Run Sysprep.

   6. Shut down the App Volumes agent virtual machine and capture this state as an image.

   7. Using the image captured in an earlier step, create an Azure Virtual Desktop.

5. In the Azure portal, navigate to the Resource Group which is integrated with App Volumes Manager.

   1. In the Resources tab, view the list of App attach packages synchronized from App Volumes Manager.

   2. Go to an App attach package and assign the App attach package to one or more host pools, user, or user groups.

6. In the Azure portal, search for Application Groups and click Application Groups.

7. In the Application groups window, click Create.

8. In the Create an application group wizard, enter the required information and finish creating the application group.

   When creating an application group, ensure that you select the host pool to which the App attach package is assigned in the previous step.

   If the application group type is RemoteApp, then add applications to the application group.

   1. Click an application group and in the window that opens, click Applications (manage).

   2. In the Add application page, do the following:

      a. Enter Application source as App Attach.

      b. Select the package from the drop-down.

      c. Select the application.

      d. Add the Application identifier.

      e. Display name is automatically populated from the shortcut name.

      f. Enter the description if required.

      g. Click Next and leave the Icon source as Default.

      When a CURRENT package has a large number of shortcuts, the icons are not automatically synchronized to the App attach package and hence the icon might be missing. If the icon is missing, then perform the following steps:

      1. Select the Icon source as File path.

      2. Select the File path as UNC file path.

      3. Enter the Icon path.

         Icon paths are required because application icons are not present on the session host virtual machine where App Volumes agent is installed. App Volumes generates an App Link for an application and the App Link includes the icon path as well.

         App Volumes agent ensures that the icon of the latest, imported package is delivered to the end user. However if a package is set with the CURRENT marker, then the icon of this package takes precedence.

         To obtain the icon path from the App Link, navigate to the App Volumes Manager admin UI and use the values displayed in the App Links table. This table is also present in the package details page for every package. For information about the App Links table, see Launch an App Volumes Application with an App Link.

      4. Enter the Icon index value as 0.

      h. Click Review and Add.

   Newly added application gets listed in the Application group's Applications window.

9. Assign the application group to a user or user group.

Result

An end user can use any one of the Remote Desktop client apps and run the application. See the Microsoft Documentation for Remote Desktop clients for Azure Virtual Desktop.