Creating or Editing a Pool

A pool is a collection of similar resources that are managed together as a single unit. Common types include server/load balancer pools, storage pools, database connection pools, and resource pools for virtualization. In virtual environments, administrators create and configure pools as a prerequisite step before provisioning virtual machines (VMs). These pool configurations define how resources are allocated, managed, and shared across the infrastructure. Once established, pool settings can be reviewed and modified as needed to adapt to changing requirements, ensuring optimal performance and resource utilization.

Updating, Editing, and Reviewing Pool Details

From the Horizon Universal Console, select Pools in the left menu. A list of pools is show in a table with their current status. If a pool displays an error, click the Error link to view more information about the error.

If an error starts with Anomaly detected for template, delete the unwanted resources, and click Retry. Refer to KB 90261 for related information. When a retry attempt is successful, the VM changes to an Expanding, Shrinking, or Ready state.

Moving Pools Online and/or Offline

You can take a pool offline when urgent maintenance is required, and you do not want any new connections or reconnections to any of the VMs in the pool. To do this, navigate to Pools in the left-hand menu of the Horizon Universal Console. Select the specific pool(s) from the table and click the Ellipsis (...) button on the top right. From the drop down select Take Offline. Use the Bring Online option to bring the pool(s) back online, making them available for new connections and reconnections again.

Managing the Pools Table and Columns

By default, some columns are hidden in the Pools table. You can customize your view by clicking the Manage Columns button at the bottom left of the table. From there, you can choose specific columns or Select All to make them visible for your specific needs.

This is particularly useful for identifying environment-specific details that are not shown by the default columns:

• Availability Zone ID: Adding this column allows you to see how your virtual machines are distributed across Azure availability zones.
• IPv6 Address: Adding this column can help to monitor network addresses for your VMs.

Additionally, you can use the filtering drop-down menus within individual column headers to refine the list of displayed VMs. For more information on the limitations of Azure availability zone support, refer to the Microsoft documentation.

Exporting Pool Data

You can now export pool data directly from the main Pools page in the Horizon Universal Console to a CSV file for reporting or analysis.

To Export Pool Data:

1. In the Horizon Universal Console, navigate to Pools.
2. Filter the data: Click the Manage Columns button at the bottom left of the table to select specific columns or Select All.
3. Once the table is filtered to show the columns you need, click the Ellipsis (...) button on the top right and select Export from the drop down.
4. In the Export Pools pop up box, Enter a unique Name for this CSV file and click Export.

Note: At this time the "Pool Group" column is not available to export. The "VM count" column is currently listed as separate columns in the exported data as "Max VMs" and "Provisioned VMs" columns.

Accessing Your Exported Files:

Your exported CSV file will be saved in the console under Monitor > Downloads, where it can be downloaded to your local machine as needed.

Editing Specific Pool Overview Details and/or Deleting the Pool

To manage a specific pool, navigate to Pools in the left-hand menu of the Horizon Universal Console. Select the Pool Name from the list to open the Overview tab. While the Overview tab displays most key configurations—such as general information, properties, and provisioning settings—you can also access the VMs, Sessions, and Admin Activity tabs for more granular management. Controls to Edit or Delete the pool are also located directly on the Overview tab.

Viewing and Performing Operations on VMs in a Pool

To view your VMs in a pool click the VMs tab to see a list.

To view and perform operations on a specific VM in a pool, select the VMs tab and click the name of the VM, which displays the card for that VM. You can also access the VM card using the VM card search feature. For details about what you can view and do in a VM card, refer to Using the Horizon Cloud VM Card Search Feature.

You can use the filtering drop-down menu in the various columns to control VM display.

Note: Do not power off or power on a VM outside of the Horizon Universal Console, either through the Microsoft Azure portal or through Guest OS shutdown. If you do, the internal status is updated to reflect the latest status of VM as seen on the Microsoft Azure portal. This update may take anywhere between 10-15 mins. Also if a VM is shut down externally but not deallocated, the system deallocates the VM to reduce costs. Sync actions are visible in Activity Logs as a System Activity.

Login Mode

From the VMs Tab for a Multi-Session Pool, select one or more VMs and click Login Mode to set the desired login mode. The four login mode states are explained below.

1. Allow logins (Available)
• Allows new connections to the VM.
• Allows reconnections to the VM.


2. Prevent new logins only (Drain)
• Does not send new connection requests to the VM.
• Routes new connections to other available VMs in the pool.
• Allows reconnections to the VM.
3. Prevent new logins (Drain) until restart
• Does not send new connection requests to the VM until the VM is restarted.
• Routes new connections to other available VMs in the pool until the VM is restarted.
• Allows reconnections to the VM.
• Reverts to Allow Logins setting after VM restart.
4. Prevent new logins and reconnections (Disabled)
• Does not send new connection requests to the VM.
• Routes new connections to other available VMs in the pool.
• Denies reconnections to the VM.

Click the drop-down to select a pool. The dropdown lists the main pool and all the expansion pools of the main pool.

Click Sessions to view a list of sessions. In the Sessions tab, select the checkboxes you need. To end the sessions, click LogOff. To close your connection without ending the sessions, click Disconnect.

Click Admin Activity to view details about activities initiated by administrators on the selected pool. On the Admin Activity tab, click Export to export a log of activity initiated by administrators on the selected pool. The log includes admin activity for a period of time that you specify, from 1 to 90 days. The log provides details about each admin-activity event, such as who initiated the event and when.

Exporting a List of VMs

You can sort and then export a list of select VMs that are members of a specific pool. You can use filtering and sorting options to easily locate and select VMs to export to a CSV list file. For example, you might want a list of all the VMs in a particular pool that are currently powered off.

Filtering options include Name, Status, vNet/Subnet, VM Model, Lifecycle Status, Agent Version, and so on.

1. From Horizon Universal Console, select Pools and select a pool from the Pools page.

2. Click the VMs tab on the pool details page.

3. Select a meaningful filter from the drop down filtering menu for each applicable column to control VM display and simplify VM selection for list export.

4. Select the VM or VMs to export to a CSV file list and click Export.

5. As prompted, enter a CSV file name on the Exports VMs page and then click Export.

6. When the export process has completed creating the list of VMs, download the CSV file as prompted.