Manage App Attach images and packages

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Nerdio Product Support

Manage App Attach images and packages

Nerdio Manager allows you to manage App Attach images and packages.

Sample Workflow

The following is a sample workflow:

Sample VHD(X) packages and certificate

To help you get you started, we created a few VHD(X) packages for some popular applications that you can download and start using in your AVD environment for testing purposes.

Note: These packages are not intended for production purposes. They should be used for proof of concept testing.

Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox

Notepad++

PuTTY

VLC

Certificate

  • The certificate can be downloaded here.

  • The certificate is the same for all the packages.

Upload an App Attach image file

You can upload an VHD/VHDX/CIM image to the Nerdio Manager-managed image library.

To upload an image:

  1. Navigate to Applications > App Attach.

  2. Select the Nerdio App Attach Images tab.

  3. Select Upload image.

  4. Enter the following information:

    • Friendly name: Type the name that you want to appear on the images list.

    • Description: Type a description.

    • Version: Type the version number of the image that you are uploading. This must be unique.

    • Storage locations: From the drop-down list, select the linked app storage location(s) in the AD-integrated Azure Files share.

      Note:

      • App Attach does not support Entra Domain Services. This needs to be Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS).

      • For App Attach working in Entra ID, you should enable Entra ID Host support. Navigate to Storage > Azure Files > Manage storage account.

    • Image File(s): Select the VHD(X)/CIM file(s) that contains the App Attach application expanded from MSIX installer or upload file(s) of the App-V package.

    • Certificate (.cer) file(s): Select the certificate file(s).

      Note: A certificate that was used to create the package must be installed on all session hosts VMs. If you used a self-signed certificate to create the package, upload it here and it is automatically installed for you. Alternatively, you can install the certificate on the desktop image and re-image the session host VMs

  5. Once you have entered all the desired information, select Upload.

The image is uploaded to Nerdio Manager.

Upload an MSIX package file

If you do not already have a VHD/VHDX./CIM that contains the image, Nerdio Manager allows you to upload the MSIX file and Nerdio Manager automatically creates a VHD file for you. The VHD image is added to the Nerdio Manager-managed image library.

To upload an MSIX package file:

  1. Navigate to Applications > App Attach.

  2. Select the Nerdio App Attach Images tab.

  3. Select Upload MSIX apps(s).

  4. Enter the following information:

    • Image name: Type the image name.

    • Storage locations: From the drop-down list, select the storage locations where the App Attach application are stored. .

      Note:

      • Storage location should be in the same Azure region as the session host VMs that access the app.

      • In Premium and Core editions only, the first selected location is considered to be primary. The primary location contains all versions of the application.

    • MSIX file(s): Select the MSIX file(s).

    • Certificate (.cer) file(s): Optionally, select the certificate file(s).

      Note: To expand the MSIX app into a VHDX container, a temporary VM is created to perform the operation and then deleted. It is recommended that you simply let Nerdio Manager handle the temporary VM's configuration. Otherwise, select Show advanced settings to specify the temporary VM's details.

  5. Once you have entered all the desired information, select OK.

    The MSIX file is uploaded, and Nerdio Manager begins the process of creating a VM to package the file into a VHDX image.

Use the App Attach package wizard

The App Attach package wizard adds the selected App Attach images in the Nerdio Manager-managed image library as App Attach packages in Azure. In addition, it allows you to assign the packages to all the desired users and groups in the specified host pools.

To use the App Attach package wizard:

  1. Navigate to Applications > App Attach.

  2. Select the App Attach Packages tab.

  3. Select + Add App Attach package.

  4. Alternatively, from the Nerdio App Attach Images tab:

    • Locate the image you wish to work with.

    • From the action menu, select Package wizard.

  5. Enter the information in the App attach wizard.

  6. In the Image tab, enter the following information:

    • Image source: From the drop-down list, select the image source.

    • App Attach Image: From the drop-down list, select the application image.

    • Image Version: From the drop-down list, select the version of the application image.

    • Temporary replica: From the drop-down list, select the version replica used to extract metadata from the selected App Attach image.

    • Temporary host pool: From the drop-down list, select the temporary host pool used to expand the image.

      Notes:

      • The temporary host pool is required as a proxy to extract metadata from the selected App Attach image. No changes are made to the pool configuration and any host pool may be used. However, as best practice we recommend the creation of a dedicated App Attach pool. At least one desktop must be running in the pool to proceed.

      • The temporary host pool is also used to expand the image and test if the image is valid.

  7. In the Package tab, enter the following information:

    • Resource group: From the drop-down list, select the resource group where the App Attach package is created.

      Note: This resource group does not need to be in the same region as the pool assignments, but it is recommended as best practice.

    • Packages: From the drop-down list, select one or more MSIX packages to make available to users on the selected host pools.

  8. In the Assignments tab, enter the following information:

    • Host Pools: From the drop-down list, select one or more host pools from the subscription of the selected resource group that are assigned to the package(s).

    • Users and Groups: From the drop-down list, select the authorized users and groups to run the applications included in the selected package(s).

  9. In the Summary tab, review the selections.

  10. Once you have reviewed all the desired selections, select Run.

The App Attach wizard task starts. You can see the task's progress in the Tasks window.

Upload a new version of an app

Nerdio Manager allows you to have multiple versions of an app. Therefore, you can upload new versions of an app as desired.

To upload a new version of an app:

  1. Navigate to Applications > App Attach.

  2. Select the Nerdio App Attach Images tab.

  3. Locate the image you want to work with.

  4. From the action menu, select Upload version.

  5. Enter the following information:

    • Version: Type the version number of the image that you are uploading. This must be unique.

    • Storage locations: Select the storage locations where the App Attach application is to be stored.

      Note: Storage location should be in the same Azure region as the session host VMs that are accessing the app.

    • Image file(s): From the drop-down list, select the application image.

    • Certificate (.cer) File(s): Optionally, select the certificate file(s).

      Note: A certificate that was used to create the package must be installed on all session hosts VMs. If you used a self-signed certificate to create the package, upload it here and it is automatically installed for you. Alternatively, you can install the certificate on the desktop image and re-image the session host VMs.

  6. Once you have entered all the desired information, select Upload.

Manage Nerdio App Attach image versions

Nerdio Manager allows you to manage image versions. This includes uploading a new image, changing its storage location, or updating the host pools with the desired version.

To manage image versions:

  1. Navigate Applications > App Attach.

  2. Select the Nerdio App Attach Images tab.

  3. Locate the image you want to work with.

  4. Select the Image versions icon.

  5. Locate the image version you wish to set as the default.

  6. Perform any of the following on the image version:

    • Select the Update host pools icon to update the assigned host pools with the selected version.

    • From the action menu, select Change storage locations, to change the image's storage location.

  7. Alternatively, select + Upload new version to upload a new version.

Related Topics

Manage App Attach Assignments

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