Add an App Volumes Application to Your Horizon Cloud Tenant's Inventory Using the Create Workflow

Using the Create workflow in the Horizon Universal Console, you add an App Volumes application to your tenant's inventory. Within this Create workflow, the system captures an app package natively within Horizon Cloud.

For background information, visit Tech Zone for a video demo walkthrough of App Volumes on Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure.

• After using the Create option for the first time, the same user should not attempt to use that option a second time for the same image until they have completed the steps to capture an app package in the capture desktop VM. If they try to use the Create option again for the same image before finishing the steps to capture an app package, a message displays stating that a request to create a package is already initiated. A different user in the same tenant, however, can initiate creating a package for that image whether or not the first user has finished.

  Note: When selecting different images, either on the same pod or another pod, the same user can run multiple captures simultaneously. They cannot run multiple captures simultaneously for the same image.

• The first time you click the Create option to initiate the capture process, the system can take up to 20 minutes before the capture desktop VM is ready and the status changes to Desktop ready for application capture. For this first time, this 20-minutes time is because the system is creating a desktop assignment and two desktop VMs to support the capturing process. After you have completed capturing your first app package, and then want to initiate a new capturing process, the time between when you click the Create option and the status changes to Desktop ready for application capture is shorter, around 10 minutes. The times after the first time are shorter because the system does not have to create the capture desktop assignment like it did for the first time. For the second time, the system deletes the previously used capture desktop VM and uses a new one.

Prerequisites

Verify that your environment meets the following prerequisites before performing this procedure's steps.

• Verify that your environment meets all the prerequisites listed in App Volumes Applications for Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure - Overview and Prerequisites.

• Verify that all of the Active Directory domains configured for the environment have domain join accounts configured in each of those configurations. To examine the configurations and check that each has a domain join account configured, in the console, navigate to Settings > Active Directory and look at the Domain Join sections for each configured domain to verify the presence of a domain join account name.

  Important: Domain join accounts are mandatory prerequisites for the App Capture operations because the system-created App Capture desktop assignment relies on using the packager admin user's Active Directory domain and the configured domain join account credentials in that Active Directory domain, as configured for your Horizon Cloud environment. The App Capture operations use that domain join account to join the App Capture desktops to that domain. The packager admin user is defined as the administrator who is logged into the Horizon Universal Console and is performing these App Capture steps described below.

• Important:

This Create workflow is only available for images with single-user, client, or VDI types of Microsoft Windows operating systems, and not for multi-session types of operating systems. Before you perform the steps in the task that follows, you must have an available image with the App Volumes Agent installed. To create such an image perform the following:

• Import a VM with the App Volumes Agent installed and with a client-type, VDI-type, or single-session type of operating system, such as Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Windows 11, or Microsoft Windows 7. Follow the import steps in the Create a Base Virtual Machine Automatically from the Microsoft Azure Marketplace and Pair it with Horizon Cloud on a Per-Pod Basis topic and select the App Volumes Agent toggle under Advanced Options.
• Create an image from that imported VM. This is the image you use to create the new app package in the following steps.

Procedure

1. In the console, select Inventory > Applications.

   The App Volumes tab of the Applications page displays.

2. Click New > Create.

3. Under Definition in the New Application Package window, enter the values shown below.

   Application	Select the New radio button and enter a unique name for the application. The name must start with a letter [a-Z] and contain only letters [a-Z], dashes [-], and numbers.
   Description	(Optional) Enter a description for the application.
   Package	Enter a unique name for the package.
   Description	(Optional) Enter a description for the package.

4. Under Desktop for Application Package in the New Application Package window, enter the values shown below.

   Location	Select a location to filter the set of pods displayed in the Pods drop-down menu.
   Pod	Select a pod to filter the set of pods displayed in the Image drop-down menu. The Pod drop-down menu displays only pods that have App Volumes enabled, have at least one image with the App Volumes Agent installed, and have Unified Access Gateway enabled.
   Image	Select an image from the Image drop-down menu. Note: The menu displays only images with the App Volumes Agent installed and which have either a single-user type or client type of operating system. See Prerequisites above for more information on creating such an image.

5. Below the list of applications, select whether the applications are delivered on-demand or at the next login or startup.

   • On demand - Select this option to deliver the package only after the user clicks the package shortcut.

   • At login - Select this option to deliver the package on login or startup. This is the default.

6. Click Save.

   The first time a user initiates the capture process, the system takes up to 20 minutes before the capture desktop VM is ready to use for capturing an application. During these 20 minutes, the system is creating one or more capture-process VDI desktop assignments to be used for the capture desktop VMs. It can take the system up to 20 minutes to create those underlying assignments and VMs.

   • The system creates one assignment per image per pod. For this reason, it might create one assignment or multiple assignments.

   • Each assignment expands to accommodate the number of simultaneous users that are performing captures, and always has an extra VM that is powered off. When the first user begins the capture process, the two VMs are created: one assigned to that user for the capture and one extra that is powered off. If a second user begins a capture, the assignment expands to three VMs, and so on, up to the capacity of the assignment. When each capture is completed, the VM used for it is deleted and the assignment capacity is reduced. Normally, the default size of the assignment when no captures are being performed is one VM. However, it is possible for the assignment to temporarily have zero VMs. In either case, when the first user begins a capture, the size increases to two VMs as described above.

   • These assignments are named according to the pattern appcaptureXXX, where XXX is a randomly generated number.

   • Locations of assignments vary, as described below.

     • Depending on your tenant's configuration on the console's Broker page and due to the dynamic nature of the console reflecting that configuration, the console's left-hand navigation for assignments will have some combination of the labels Desktops and Apps, such as Assignments > VDI Desktops & Apps or Assignments > RDSH Desktops & Apps or some combinations along those lines. For whichever type of path in the console that has the Apps label, these assignments are listed there.

     • When the console's Broker page shows Universal Broker enabled for the Horizon Cloud pods, and the assignments are based on a non-multi-cloud assignment, they appear in Assignments > RDSH Desktops & Apps.

       Note: If you have assignments from captures you performed before the December 9, 2020 update and Universal Broker enabled for the Horizon Cloud pods, it is recommended that you delete those assignments from their RDSH Desktops & Apps console page. With Universal Broker enabled, all new assignments created in the capture process are multi-cloud assignments and display on both VDI Desktops & Apps and RDSH Desktops & Apps as described below.

     • When the console's Broker page shows Universal Broker enabled for the Horizon Cloud pods, and the assignments are based on a multi-cloud assignment, they appear in both locations: Assignments > VDI Desktops & Apps and Assignments > RDSH Desktops & Apps.

       Note: When an assignment appears in both locations, the name is slightly different. The name of the assignment in RDSH Desktops & Apps has an additional alphanumeric string appended to it. For example, an assignment that has a name like appcapture1234 in VDI Desktops & Apps would have a name like appcapture1234-5ab6c789 in RDSH Desktops & Apps.

       Important: Before deleting one of these assignments, review the information below about deleting assignments.

   • About deleting assignments:

     • If you are not planning to perform additional capture in the near future, you can delete these assignments so they are not in your environment for no reason. If you delete them, however, the next time you perform a capture the system will take up to 20 minutes to create new ones.
     • If you want to update the image that is used for the packaging process, you must delete these assignments before doing so. Attention: To delete an assignment that appears in both Assignments > VDI Desktops & Apps and Assignments > RDSH Desktops & Apps as described above, do not attempt to delete it on the Assignments > RDSH Desktops & Apps page, as this causes an error. Instead, remove it from the Assignments > VDI Desktops & Apps page. This removes the assignment from both pages.

     Note that when an assignment appears in both locations, the name is slightly different. The name of the assignment in Assignments > RDSH Desktops & Apps has an additional alphanumeric string appended to it. For example, an assignment that has a name like appcapture1234 in Assignments > VDI Desktops & Apps would have a name like appcapture1234-5ab6c789 in Assignments > RDSH Desktops & Apps.

   Tip: You can go to Monitor > Notifications to view useful information about the progress of your capture as well as next steps at each point in the procedure. There are notifications for package creation, assignment creation, and assignment status. Notifications also provide assignment names, package names, and the identity of the user performing each capture. If a capture fails for any reason, you can look in the notifications to see any errors that have been reported.

   There is now an entry for the application package in the list on the Applications page. If you point to Status for this list entry, it indicates the status of the capture VM. When the status is Desktop ready for application capture, you can proceed with the steps to log into the capture desktop VM and start installing an application for your app package.

7. On the Application page, click the name of the application.

   The application detail page for the application displays.

8. Select the new application package and then click Start Capture.

   The Horizon Web Client (Blast) login form opens in a new browser tab.

9. Log in using the same credentials that you used to log in to the Horizon Universal Console.

10. InHorizon Web Client, launch the capture desktop VM.

    Warning: The user name used to log in to the capture VM must have local administrator privileges, or the user will not see the Packaging in progress dialog box.

    A App Volumes - Packaging in progress dialog box with the message Packaging... is displayed on the Windows desktop.

    Important: Do not close this dialog box. If necessary, move it out of the way until you are finished installing the application you want in the application package.

11. Install an application that you want to package in the application package.

    Note: It is a best practice to capture only one application per capture session. Install one application and then finish the capture process. When the application package for that application is visible on the console’s Applications page, then you can capture another application in a new package. See Horizon Cloud - Add a New App Package to an Existing App Volumes Application.

12. Click OK in the App Volumes - Packaging in progress dialog box. After you are finished installing the application, in the App Volumes – Packaging in progress window click OK. The next App Volumes – Packaging in progress window appears.

    A App Volumes - Packaging in progress dialog box with the message Installation complete? is displayed.

13. Click Yes.

    A App Volumes - Finalize Package dialog box displays.

14. Make any desired changes to the name and version, and optionally add a description.

15. Click Finalize.

    A message displays prompting you to reboot the VM.

16. Click OK and let the VM reboot.

    As the capture desktop VM is rebooting, your Horizon Web Client session displays a message that you have been disconnected.

17. After the capture desktop VM is back online, log in again to see the Packaging successful! message.

18. Log out of the capture desktop VM.

Results

On the application detail page, the new app package appears with status of Application capture in progress. The status changes to Success when the app package import is complete.