Managing Published Images for Horizon Cloud Pods in Microsoft Azure

After you publish an image, you can manage that image using the Horizon Universal Console. A published image is an image that has successfully completed the Horizon Cloud sealing process and Horizon Cloud can use it to provision RDS farms (in the case of RDSH-capable images) or VDI desktops. Other terms sometimes used to describe such images are sealed images and assignable images. Sealing an image is sometimes referred to as publishing the image or converting the image to a desktop.

Actions You Can Perform on Published Images from Horizon Cloud Pods in Microsoft Azure

After you publish an image, you can manage that image using the Horizon Universal Console. A published image is an image that has successfully completed the Horizon Cloud sealing process and Horizon Cloud can use it to provision the RDSH VMs in an RDSH farm (in the case of RDSH-capable images) or provision VDI desktop VMs. Other terms sometimes used to describe such images are sealed images and assignable images. When an image is sealed, the console displays the Published status for that image.

Tip: As described in First-Gen Tenants - Tour of the First-Gen Horizon Universal Console, the cloud-based console is dynamic and reflects the workflows and settings that are appropriate for the up-to-the-moment situation in your Horizon Cloud tenant environment. Access to features varies depending on factors such as whether your cloud-connected pods are running the latest level of the pod's software, whether features are based on specific options set in the tenant record in the cloud plane, and so on. The console dynamically reflects the elements related to such features when your pod fleet or tenant account configuration includes use of such features. That means that you might see labels in the console that are slightly different from the ones described here. Also, when you are expecting to see a feature in the console and do not see it, you can ask your Horizon Cloud representative or open a support request to verify whether your tenant account configuration entitles its usage.

Because the console is so dynamic, you might see different labels in the console for your specific environment.

Procedure

1. Click Inventory and navigate to the image-related page that has the image that you want to act on.

2. Click the check box corresponding to that image.

3. To perform an action on an image, select the image's check box and click one of the action buttons.

   Button	Description
   Rename	Note: This page contains an action named Rename in a deactivated state, because that action is not supported currently for images from a pod deployed in Microsoft Azure.
   Duplicate	The duplicate workflow is typically used when updating a farm's or VDI desktop assignment's underlying golden image, for example, to install or update applications in the image VM. Duplicating an existing image creates an image with the same configuration and a new name. For detailed steps of changing images used for farms and VDI desktop assignments, see Change Images Used for Farms in Horizon Cloud and Change Images Used for VDI Desktop Assignments. When you click Duplicate, you must enter a name for the new duplicated VM. After you enter a new name and click Save, the system clones the sealed image's VM to make a new base VM, and lists the new VM on the Imported VMs page. When you see that the Imported VMs page reports the new VM's agent is active, you can log in to it and make changes. When you are finished making your changes, you publish the duplicate to make it an assignable (sealed) image. Note: As the system begins the cloning process, the original sealed image goes into Transition status for the first part of the process. After some time, the original sealed image returns to its original state. You can monitor the progress of the duplicate image on the Imported VMs page or using the Activity page.
   Update Agent	Update the image's agent-related software components to a newer version. Clicking this button opens the Agent Update wizard. A blue dot appears next to the name of an image when agent updates are available for it. When you hover over that blue dot, a popup indicates all of the agent updates that are available for that image. For details, see one of the following topics: Update Agent Software for RDSH Images in Horizon Cloud Horizon Cloud Pods - Update Agent Software for Images Used by Floating VDI Desktop Assignments Important: For dedicated VDI desktop assignments, you usually update the agents from the Assignments page instead of by updating the agents in the image. See Update Agent Software for Dedicated VDI Desktop Assignments.

   To perform one of the other available actions, click More and select the option you want.

   Note: Even though the Download Bootstrap and Refresh Password actions are visible when an image is selected, those actions are not applicable to any one image.

   Drop-Down Option	Description
   Delete	Permanently deletes the selected image. Note: An image cannot be deleted if the system detects the image is in use, such as by a farm.
   Publish	For images used in farms or VDI desktop assignments, this action republishes a duplicated image to make it assignable again. This action is not available if the image already is an assignable (sealed) image. An assignable image is one that has Published status.
   Convert to Desktop	Use this action only on images that have failed the publishing workflow and did not reach the Published status. This action converts the published image to an unsealed VM. The unsealed VM is listed on the Imported VMs page at that point. CAUTION: Use this action sparingly. Repeated use of this action on the same image can result in unexpected results and failure to seal the image when attempting to republish the image. As an example, if you create a new image, then run Publish on it and it reaches Published status, then you run Convert to Desktop on that image, then run Publish again, the Sysprep process that happens in the publishing workflow can fail. If you again convert the image back to an unsealed image, from that point on, the image might always fail the publishing workflow. At that point, it is prudent to start fresh and make a new base image.
   Assign Image	Even though the console displays this action, this action is not used for images in a Microsoft Azure environment. As a result, the action is inaccessible.
   Bulk Assign Image	This option is available for use only for an environment configured for single-pod brokering. When your environment is configured to use Universal Broker for the pods in Microsoft Azure, this action is in a deactivated state, because this action is not supported currently for that configuration. Assigns the image to multiple assignments or farms that are based on the immediate parent image (the image from which the selected image was duplicated or updated). In the Bulk Assign Image dialog box, select the assignments and farms in the list and click Update. Note: In an environment configured for single-pod brokering, this option is only available for images created using the Duplicate operation and images updated to newer agent versions using the Update Agent operation.

4. View details about the image by clicking the image's name.

   The screen displays the image's details page and buttons for those actions you can perform on the image from its details page.

   For example, this screen is the information for an RDS-enabled assignable server image named lawin2016. This image belongs to a pod named lakjun30 and is referenced by two RDSH farms.

   

Change Images Used for Farms in Horizon Cloud

After you publish your initial RDSH-capable image and create farms using it, you can make changes to that image and push the changes to all of the farms using that image. A typical reason to update an already published image is to install additional third-party applications or other features. You start this workflow in the Horizon Universal Console.

Note: If you are changing the RDSH-capable image to update the Horizon Cloud agent-related components, you use a different procedure. See Update Agent Software for RDSH Images in Horizon Cloud.

At a high-level, the workflow to update an in-use image is:

1. Duplicate the existing image to create an image with the same configuration and a new name. In the duplication process, the system clones the sealed image's virtual machine (VM) to make a new unpublished golden image VM, and lists the new VM on the Imported VMs page.
2. When you see that the Imported VMs page reports the new VM's agent is active, log in to the VM and make your desired changes to that duplicate VM.
3. Use Convert to Image to publish that duplicate VM, making it an assignable (sealed) image.
4. Edit the farms that are using the original image to use the newly updated duplicate image instead of the original one.

Prerequisites

Verify you have local administrator account credentials to log in to the image and update it. This administrator account is the same one that was used to publish the image using the New Image workflow. See Convert a Configured Image VM to an Assignable Image in Horizon Cloud.

Note: When using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client as your RDP software to connect to the VM, ensure it is the most up-to-date version. For example, the default RDP software in the Windows 7 operating system is not at a high enough version. The version must be version 8 or higher.

Procedure

1. Click Inventory and navigate to the image-related page where the image is listed.

2. Select the check box for the image and click Duplicate.

   In the dialog box, enter a name for the duplicate image. After you enter a new name and click Save, the system clones the sealed image's VM to make a new image VM, and lists that new VM on the Imported VMs page.

   Note: As the system begins the cloning process, the original sealed image goes into Transition status for the first part of the process. After some time, the original sealed image returns to its original state.

3. Navigate to Inventory > Imported VMs to see when the Imported VMs page reports the new VM's agent is active.

4. When you see on the Imported VMs page that the new VM's agent is active, use the VM's IP address and your RDP software to connect to the RDSH-capable Windows operating system.

   • If the original image was created with a public IP address, the new duplicate VM has a public IP address and you can use that IP address in your RDP software
   • If the original image was not created with a public IP address, the new duplicate VM has an IP that is private in your Microsoft Azure cloud environment, and you must RDP into it by one of these two methods:
     • Using another VM in your Microsoft Azure subscription that does have a public IP address and doing an outbound RDP into the VM.
     • Use your VPN and RDP into the VM over your corporate network

5. Log in to the Windows operating system using the username and password that was supplied in the Import Image wizard when the image was created.

   If using the local administrator name, enter the username as \username.

6. In the Windows operating system, perform your intended updates.

   If you are installing additional third-party applications, see the steps described in For a Horizon Cloud Imported VM with a Microsoft Windows Server Operating System — Customize the VM for Your Organization's Needs.

7. Return to the Imported VMs page, select the check box for that duplicate VM, and click More > Convert to Image.

   The system takes the image, which was duplicated and then updated, through its standard publishing process. The image is displayed on the image-related page where it was listed at the start of this process. When the publishing process is complete, the image is displayed with the Published status.

8. When you see that the duplicated and updated image is in Published status, update each farm that is using the original image to use the new duplicate image instead, the image which now has your changes in it.

   In each farm's details page, click the General Settings Edit link to open a window, select the new duplicate image, and save.

Results

The farms you update automatically delete and re-create their RDSH instances using the updated image.

What to do next

When you have updated the farms that are using the original image and can determine the original image is no longer needed by your organization, you can use the console to delete the original image. Deleting the original image is a best practice, to prevent other administrators in your organization from using an image that has down-level software.

Change Images Used for VDI Desktop Assignments

After you publish an image and create VDI desktop assignments using it, you can make changes to that image and push the changes to all of the VDI desktop assignments that use that image. A typical reason to update an already published image is to install additional third-party applications or other features. You start this workflow in the Horizon Universal Console.

Note: If you are changing the image to update the Horizon Cloud agent-related components, you use a different procedure. See Horizon Cloud Pods - Updating the Agent-Related Software Installed in Your VDI Desktop Assignments, Farms, Publishing Images, and Base VMs and its subtopics.

At a high-level, the workflow to update an in-use image is:

1. Duplicate the existing image to create an image with the same configuration and a new name. In the duplication process, the system clones the sealed image's virtual machine (VM) to make a new unpublished golden image VM, and lists the new VM on the Imported VMs page.
2. When you see that the Imported VMs page reports the new VM's agent is active, log in to the VM and make your desired changes to that duplicate VM.
3. Use Convert to Image to publish that duplicate VM, making it an assignable (sealed) image.
4. Edit the VDI desktop assignments that are using the original image to use the newly updated duplicate image instead of the original one.

Prerequisites

Verify you have local administrator account credentials to log in to the image and update it. This administrator account is the same one that was used to publish the image using the New Image workflow. See Convert a Configured Image VM to an Assignable Image in Horizon Cloud.

Note: When using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client as your RDP software to connect to the VM, ensure it is the most up-to-date version. For example, the default RDP software in the Windows 7 operating system is not at a high enough version. The version must be version 8 or higher.

Procedure

1. Click Inventory and navigate to the image-related page where the image is listed.

2. Select the check box for the image and click Duplicate.

   In the dialog box, enter a name for the duplicate image. After you enter a new name and click Save, the system clones the sealed image's VM to make a new image VM, and lists the new VM on the Imported VMs page.

   Note: As the system begins the cloning process, the original sealed image goes into Transition status for the first part of the process. After some time, the original sealed image returns to its original state.

3. Navigate to Inventory > Imported VMs to see when the Imported VMs page reports the new VM's agent is active.

4. When you see on the Imported VMs page that the new VM's agent is active, use the VM's IP address and your RDP software to connect to the Windows operating system.

   • If the original image was created with a public IP address, the new duplicate VM has a public IP address and you can use that IP address in your RDP software
   • If the original image was not created with a public IP address, the new duplicate VM has an IP that is private in your Microsoft Azure cloud environment, and you must RDP into it by one of these two methods:
     • Using another VM in your Microsoft Azure subscription that does have a public IP address and doing an outbound RDP into the VM.
     • Use your VPN and RDP into the VM over your corporate network

5. Log in to the Windows operating system using the username and password that was supplied in the Import Image wizard when the image was created.

   If using the local administrator name, enter the username as \username.

6. In the Windows operating system, perform your intended updates.

   If you are installing additional third-party applications, see the steps described in For a Horizon Cloud Imported VM with a Microsoft Windows Client Operating System — Customize the VM for Your Organization's Needs.

7. Return to the Imported VMs page, select the check box for that duplicate VM, and click More > Convert to Image.

   The system takes the image, which was duplicated and then updated, through its standard publishing process. The image is displayed on the image-related page where it was listed at the start of this process. When the publishing process is complete, the image is displayed with the Published status.

8. When you see that the duplicated and updated image is in Published status, edit each VDI desktop assignment that is using the original image to use the new duplicate image instead, the image which now has your changes in it.

Results

When you update a VDI desktop assignment to change its image:

• Unassigned, powered-off VMs in the assignment are automatically recreated using the new image.
• Unassigned VMs that are powered on but do not have an active end user connection are automatically recreated with the new image.
• Unassigned VMs that are powered on and which have an active end user connection, such as those from a floating VDI desktop assignment, are automatically updated with the new image when the end user logs off.
• Desktop VMs that are mapped to an end user, such as those from a dedicated VDI desktop assignment, are not automatically updated to the new image. To get such an assigned desktop VM updated to use the new duplicate image instead, you must manually unassign that desktop VM. The next time the system goes to power on the desktop VM, it will apply the new image. Then you can manually assign that desktop VM back to a specific end user.

What to do next

When you have updated the VDI desktop assignments that are using the original image and you can determine the original image is no longer needed by your organization, you can use the console to delete the original image. Deleting the original image is a best practice, to prevent other administrators in your organization from using an image that has down-level software.