Lab 03: Installing the App Volumes Agent to an existing RDS farm

Objective and Tasks

You have set up the App Volumes Manager Server. Now connect to an existing Horizon 8 environment and assess the existing RDS Farm. Use the golden image provided, install it with the App Volumes Agent and update the existing RDS Farm.

  1. Identify the current golden image and snapshot associated with an existing RDS Farm
  2. Connect to the vCenter, power ON the new RDS Windows Server and update golden image with the App Volumes Agent, and take a snapshot
  3. Use the new golden image snapshot to update the RDS Farm
  4. Validate the registration of the RDS servers from the RDS Farm within the App Volumes Manager admin console
Expand or collapse content Task 1: Identify the current golden image and snapshot associated with an existing desktop pool

All tasks within this lab will be carried out from the ControlCenter VM.

  1. If you are not already connected to ControlCenter VM, follow the below steps
    • On the right-hand side of the browser pane, select the Resources tab.
    • Select and log in to the ControlCenter VM
    • Username:OMINISSATRAINING\Administrator
    • Password: Pa$$w0rd
  2. Connect to Horizon Admin console (horizon-02a)
    • Launch the Google Chrome browser from the ControlCenter VM
  3. Login to the Horizon 8 Admin Console
    • From the browser bookmark bar, click on Horizon-02a
    • Accept the 'Attention' notification by clicking on I AGREE
    • Username: administrator
    • Password: Pa$$w0rd
    • Click on SIGN IN
  4. Proceed to identify the Golden Image and Snapshot for the existing RDS Farm
    • On the left side of the admin console, navigate to the Inventory > Farms
    • View the available RDS Farm: RDSFarmS2
    • Click on RDSFarmS2
    • In the Summary tab, scroll down to vCenter Server
    • Identify the Golden Image in vCenter : RDSH-Golden
    • Identify the Snapshot : baseline
Expand or collapse content Task 2: Using the vCenter, update the identified golden image with the App Volumes Agent

All the actions carried out in this section will be on vCenter-01

  1. Navigate to vCenter-01 identify the new RDS golden image RDSH-GoldenNoAV Windows Server for this task.
  2. Within the vCenter web console, identify and Power ON the RDSH-GoldenNoAV virtual machine
    • Navigate to vcenter01 > DC1 > Cluster1
    • Right click on the RDSH-GoldenNoAV VM
    • Select Power > Power On
  3. Connect to the RDSH-GoldenNoAV virtual machine
    • Select the RDSH-GoldenNoAV
    • Under the Summary tab > click on the LAUNCH WEB CONSOLE button
  4. This opens up a new browser tab to the virtual machine, login and initiates the application installation
    • Click on the 'Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete' button on the top left section of the browser window
    • Username: administrator
    • There is no password
  5. Install the App Volumes Agent on the golden image
    • Open the File Explore within the RDSH-GoldenNoAV VM
    • Navigate to the file path: \\labfiler\resources\software\appvolumes\appvol2603
    • Go to the installation folder
  6. Initiate the App Volumes Agent installation
    • Double-click on Setup.msi
    • Acknowledge the start of the setup wizard, click on Next
    • Choose 'Install App Volumes Agent'
    • Click on Install
    • If you see a User Account Control pop-up, acknowledge and click on Yes
    • Continue the setup wizard, click on Next
    • Management Mode screen, choose 'Managed (Connects to App Volumes Manager)'
    • Click on Next
    • Package Access Mode screen, choose 'Shared Storage'
    • Click on Next
    • At the Server Configuration screen
    • App Volumes Manager: appvol-02a.omnissatraining.com
    • accept the remaining defaults
    • Click on Next
    • Machine Type: accept the defaults
    • Click on Next
    • Click Install
    • Click on Finish
    • Shutdown the virtual machine and close the RDSH-GoldenNoAV browser tab
  7. At the vCenter tab, take a snapshot of the current state of the RDSH-GoldenNoAV VM
    • Click on the RDSH-GoldenNoAV VM
    • Confirm the VM is in the powered OFF state
    • Click on the Snapshots tab
    • Click on the TAKE SNAPSHOT button
    • Name: av_agent
    • Click on CREATE
    • Observe the new 'av_agent' snapshot has been created
Expand or collapse content Task 3: Update the RDS Farm with the new snapshot

With the Golden image being updated with the App Volumes Agent and a new snapshot taken, let's update the existing RDS servers within the existing RDS Farm with a new golden image by pointing to the new image and new snapshot

  1. Log back in to the Horizon admin console for horizon-02a
    • Open a new tab on the Google Chrome browser or refresh the existing Horizon Admin page.
    • Click the bookmark on the bookmark bar for horizon-02a
    • This will connect you to the Horizon administrator console at https://horizon-02a.omnissatraining.com/admin
  2. Login to the Horizon admin console.
    • Username: administrator
    • Password: Pa$$w0rd
    • Domain: OmnissaTraining
  3. Put the RDS farm into maintenance and update the pointer to the newly created image RDSH-GoldenNoAV and 'av_agent' snapshot
    • Navigate to Inventory > Farms
    • Click on the RDS Farm: RDSFarmS2
    • From the menu bar, click on the MAINTAIN drop-down
    • Select Schedule
    • In the Maintenance section
    • Select Schedule drop-down: Immediate
    • Click NEXT
    • In the Image (snapshot) select, uncheck the Use current golden image
    • Click on the CHANGE button
    • In the Select Golden Image section, check the box next to Show All Golden Images
    • Scroll down and select the radio button next to RDSH-GoldenNoAV
    • Click on SUBMIT
    • Back at the Image (snapshot) section, scroll down and select the av_agent snapshot
    • Click on NEXT
    • Schedule section, select the radio button 'Force users to log off'
    • Click on NEXT
    • Ready to complete section - click on FINISH

The rebuild process of the Windows Servers that are part of the RDS Farm, and this can be observed from vCenter-01. This process of pool update involves, creating a new CP-Template VM, from the golden image and new snapshot. Followed by creating a CP-Replica VM. From which the existing desktops in the pool will be deleted and new desktop VMs built out.

Approx. time to rebuild the desktop pool is 10 to 12 minutes.

Expand or collapse content Task 4: Validate the registration of the Windows Server hostnames from the RDS Farm, seen from within the App Volumes Manager admin console

Validate the success of the pool update and App Volumes Agent registration from;

  • Horizon 8 Admin console - desktop pool setting
  • App Volumes Manager admin console
  1. Confirm the successful update of the RDSFarmS2 RDS Farm
    • From the Horizon 8 admin console for horizon-02a
    • Navigate to the Inventory > Farms, and click on the RDSFarmS2
    • Click on the RDS Hosts tab (next to the Summary tab)
    • Review the provisioning of two Windows Server virtual machines, and the App Volumes Agent Version tab, reflects the Agent version 4.21.0.5081
  2. Log in to the App Volumes Manager admin console
    • Open a second browser tab within Google Chrome
    • Select appvol-02a from the bookmark bar
    • Username: administrator
    • Password: Pa$$w0rd
    • Click login
  3. Validate that the registration of the virtual desktop pool machines within the admin console
    • Click on DIRECTORY
    • Under the Computers tab
    • Note the two RDS server VMs from the RDS farm: rdsh2-1$ and rdsh2-2$ are listed with updated App Volumes Agent version 4.21.0.508R.
    • This confirms that the Windows server VMs, part of the RDS Farm, have been successfully updated with the App Volumes Agent, and the new VMs are registered and active in the App Volumes Manager admin console.

This concludes this lab.

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