Lab 2: App Volumes Operations with Apps On-Demand

Objective and Tasks

This lab focusses on App Volumes Operations with Apps On-Demand. It explains the process of associating an App Volumes Manager with a Horizon Connection Server, configuring Apps on Demand for RDS-based farms, testing published applications, and verifying disk mounts on RDSH VMs.

The lab consists of the following four tasks:

1. Log in to the App Volumes Manager
2. Configure Apps on Demand for RDS-based Farms
3. Test the Apps on Demand package with Published Applications
4. Verify the App Volumes disk mounted on the RDSH VM

Task 1: Login to the App Volumes Manager

We'll start by logging into the App Volumes Manager where we will see what applications are available for your Horizon users. If you are continuing immediately from the previous lab skip to step 3.

  1. Login to ControlCenter (Landing Desktop)
    • Username: administrator
    • password : Pa$$w0rd
  2. On the ControlCenter server,
    • Open Chrome Browser
  3. From the Bookmarks bar
  4. Launch the App Volumes shortcut
  5. In the App Volumes admin console, Login with
    • Username: Administrator
    • Password: Pa$$w0rd
    • select LOGIN
  1. In the App Volumes Admin Page,
  2. Navigate to Inventory > Applications
  3. View the list of application (These are few pre-captured application)
  1. Click on  the Packages
  2. View the List of Packages.

Packages represent the virtual disks that contain the programs (executables) required for the application to run. Throughout the lifecycle of an application many versions might be packaged. You control which version of an application the user might launch.

Task 2: Configuring Apps on Demand for RDS based Farms

Start by associating our App Volumes Manager with Horizon.

  1. On your ControlCenter server > Chrome Browser
  2. From the Favorites bar, Open Horizon-01a bookmark
  3. Login to the Horizon Admin Console
    • Username: administrator
    • password : Pa$$w0rd
  4. In the Horizon Admin Console menu
    • expand Settings
      • select Servers
  1. In the Servers area
    • select the App Volumes Managers tab
      • under App Volumes Managers
        • select ADD
  1. In the Add App Volumes Manager window
    • add the following next to:-
      • Server Address appvol-01a.techseals.co
      • User Name administrator
      • Password Pa$$w0rd
    • select OK

Next, ensure that the App Volumes Manager trusts requests coming from the Horizon Connection Server by pushing the Connection Server's TLS certificate to the App Volumes Manager.

  1. In the App Volumes Manager Server area
    • next to:- appvol-01a.techseals.co
      • select the radio button
    • next to CERTIFICATE
      • from the dropdown
        • select Push Certificate
  1. In the Push Certificate window
    • select OK

Next, we enable an RDS farm to deliver applications from an App Volumes Manager.

  1. In the Horizon admin console
    • In the left Menu
      • expand Inventory
        • select Farms
  1. In the Farms area
    • next to RDSFarm-BLR
      • select the checkbox
    • below Farms, select More Commands
      • from the dropdown
        • select Associate App Volumes Manager
  1. In the Associate App Volumes Manager window
    • from the dropdown
      • select appvol-01a.techseals.co
        • select OK

Next, create Horizon Application Pools for any published applications that you would like to make available to your users.

  1. In the Horizon admin console
    • In the left Menu
      • expand Inventory
        • select Applications
  1. In the Application Pools area
    • select ADD
      • from the dropdown
        • select Add from App Volumes Manager
  1. In the Add Application Pool wizard under Select App Volumes Manger Applications
    • next to FileZilla
      • select the checkbox
        • select NEXT
  1. In the Add Application Pool wizard
    • Accept the defaults
      • select SUBMIT

Grant your users and groups permission to the Published Application.

  1. In the Add Entitlements window
    • select ADD
  1. In the Find User or Group window
    • in line with Name/User Name , next to Starts with
      • enter Developers
        • select FIND
      • below FIND
        • next to Developers
          • select the Checkbox
      • select OK
    • to close the Add Entitlements window
      • select OK
Task 3: Testing Apps on Demand Package with Published Applications
  1. On your ControlCenter Server
  2. Minimize all the browsers open
    • Launch the  Omnissa Horizon Client
    • Connect to horizon-01a.techseals.co
  1. Login
  1. Once Logged in,  Notice the FileZilla app is entitled to User Craig
  2. Launch FileZilla
    • Note you have a FileZilla launched on your desktop
  3. This app is launched from App Volumes package.  Lauch Filezilla and wait for it to load.   The disk is being mounted on an RDS host.
Task 4: View the App Volumes Disk Mounted on the RDSH VM
  1. On your ControlCenter server
    • Maximize or Open the Chrome Browser,
    • From Favorite Bar,
    • Open vcenter-01a
    • Expand the vCenter Inventory
  1. Notice two RDSH Instant Clone VMs running
    • rdsh-1
    • rdsh-2
  2. Out of both the VMs, the app volumes package disk, may get mounted in any of these VMs
  3. It could be rdsh-1
  4. Select & right-click
  5. select Edit Settings...

With Apps On-Demand, any one of the servers in the Farm might be selected for the mounting of the Package.

  1. In the Edit Settings window
    • Note you may have only One Hard disk - there may also be 2 on this server, depending on which host the App Volumes package disk was mounted.  
    • select CANCEL
  1. On your ControlCenter server
    • on your  vSphere Web Client session
      • select rdsh-2
        • select & right-click
          • select Edit Settings...

This is one of the of the other RDS Hosts in the farm.

  1. In the Edit Settings window
    • Note you now have Two hard disks
      • next to Hard disk 2
      • Select Expand icon
      • Next to Disk File, note the file name.  This is your App Volumes Filezilla package
      • select CANCEL

In this example, the app volumes package disk for FileZilla was mounted on rdsh-2. To minimize the number of connections for a single user any subsequent Published Applications that user requests will be mounted to the same RDS Host.

  1. This concludes our lab.  Thank you so much for joining us.  Don't forget to leave your feedback in the Omnissa One conference app.

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