02-Create-Hostpool-Event.md

Exercise 1: Create Host Pool from Azure Portal*

A Host Pool is a collection of Azure virtual machines that register to Windows Virtual Desktop as session hosts when you run the Windows Virtual Desktop agent. All session host virtual machines in a host pool should be sourced from the same image for a consistent user experience. To start with, we will login to the Azure portal.

Task 1: Log in to Azure Portal

1. In the JumpVM, double click on the Azure portal shortcut on the desktop.

   

2. Login to Azure with the username and click on Next.

   

3. Enter password and click on Sign in.

   

   Note: If there's a dialog box saying Help us protect your account, then select Skip for now option.

   

   Note: If there's a popup entitled Stay signed in? with buttons for No and Yes - Choose No.

   

   Note: If there's another popup entitled Welcome to Microsoft Azure with buttons for Start Tour and Maybe Later - Choose Maybe Later.

   

4. Now in the Azure portal, click on Resource Groups present under Navigate.

   

5. You will see a list of resource groups as show in the image below. Click on WVD-RG to open it.

   

   Note: You will be using WVD-RG throughout the lab. Other two resource groups listed in the portal are not to be used in the lab.

Task 2: Create Host Pool

In this exercise, we will create a Host Pool named WVD-HP-01 of pooled type, then add two session hosts (virtual machines) i.e. WVD-HP01-SH-0 and WVD-HP01-SH-1 and register the default desktop application group from this hostpool to a new workspace named WVD-WS-01.

1. On Azure portal search for Windows Virtual Desktop in the search bar and select Windows Virtual Desktop from the suggestions.

   

2. You will get directed towards the Windows Virtual Desktop (here after referred to as WVD) management window.

   

3. Now select Host pools under Manage blade and then click on + Add to add new Host Pool.

   

4. In this step, we will provide the details required to create a Host Pool. For your convenience, this step is divided into two sections as follows:

   A. Project Details – Defines the Host Pool environment

   • Subscription: Choose the default subscription.
   • Resource Group: Select WVD-RG from the drop down.
   • Host Pool Name: WVD-HP-01
   • Location: East US, basically this should be same as the region of your resource group.
   • Validation environmet: No

   Note: Validation host pools let you monitor service updates before rolling them out to your production environment.

   

   B. Host Pool Type – Defines the type of host pool.

   • Host pool type: Pooled

   Note: Host Pools are of 2 types: Pooled and Personal.

   • Pooled, where session hosts can accept connections from any user authorized to an app group within the host pool.
   • Personal, where each session host is assigned to individual users.

   • Load Balancing Algorithm: Breadth First

   Note: Load Balancing Algorithm is of two types: Breadth-first and Depth-first.

   • Breadth-first load balancing allows you to evenly distribute user sessions across the session hosts in a host pool.
   • Depth-first load balancing allows you to saturate a session host with user sessions in a host pool.

   • Max session Limit: 5

   Note: Max session Limit limits the simultaneous number of users on the same session host.

   • Then click on Next:Virtual Machines.

   

5. In the Virtual machines tab, select Yes against Add virtual machines. By doing this, we are stepping towards adding Virtual machines to the host pool.

   

6. In this step, we will provide the details of the VMs to be created as session Hosts. For your convenience, this step is divided into three sections as follows:

   A. Session Host Specifications:

   • Resource Group: Select WVD-RG from the drop down.
   • Name prefix: WVD-HP01-SH
   • Virtual machine location: East US, location should be same as location of your resource group.
   • Availability options: Select No infrastructure redundancy required from the drop down.
   • Image type: Gallery
   • Image: Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, version 1909 + Microsoft 365 Apps (choose from dropdown)
   • Virtual machine size: Standard D4s_v3. Click on Change Size, then select D4s_v3 and click on Select as shown below

   

   • Number of VMs: 2
   • OS disk type: Standard SSD
   • Use managed disks: Leave to default
   • Boot Diagnostics: Disable

   

   B. Network and Security:

   Leave all values to default, except:

   • Virtual network: aadds-vnet (choose from dropdown)
   • Subnet: sessionhosts-subnet(10.0.1.0/24) (choose from dropdown)
   • Public inbound ports: No

   

   C. Domain Administrator Account:

   • AD domain join UPN: Paste your username
   • Password: Paste the password
   • Specify Domain or Unit: No

   

   Note: This Administrator Account details will be used for domain joining the virtual machines to the Windows AD domain we created using AADDS.

   D. Virtual Machine Administrator Account:

   • Username: hostadmin
   • Password: Paste the password
   • Confirm Password: Paste the password again.
   • Click on Next: Workspace to proceed.

   

7. In the Workspace section, we need to specify if we need to register the default application group to a workspace.

   • Register desktop app group: Choose Yes
   • To this workspace: Click on Create new

   

8. Once you click on Create new, a small window pops up, where you can specify the Workspace name you are going to create.

   • Workspace name: WVD-WS-01
   • Click on OK

   

9. Now click on Review + create on the bottom left corner.

   

10. The last window helps us to verify if the parameters we filled are correct. Wait for validation to pass, then click on Create to initiate the deployment.

    

    Note: The deployment will take about 15 minutes to succeed.

11. Once the deployment is succeeded, open notifications and click on Go to Resource.

    

    [Optional]

    Note: In case the previous deployment for Host Pool fails, follow the below steps. Else, continue from step 13:

    i. Go to the WVD-RG resource group and click on Overview.

    

    ii. Select the resources highlighted in the image below, then click on ellipsis in the top-right corner and click on delete. Make sure you DO NOT delete any other resources other than the ones shown in screenshot below.

    

    iii. Now under Confirm delete type yes in the bar and click on Delete.

    

    iv. Once the resources get deleted, then perform Task 1 from Step 1 to Step 11 to create the Host Pool again.

    v. Now wait for the deployment to succeed. When it gets succeeded, open the notifications and click on Go to Resource.

    

12. You will see that the host pool WVD-HP-01 is created with two session hosts in it and a default application group (of type Desktop).

    

13. Now click on Session Hosts present under Manage blade. Here you can view the session hosts created.

    

14. Click on the Next button present in the bottom-right corner of this lab guide.