How can I integrate AVD resources provisioned to Azure Local (Stack HCI) with Nerdio Manager?

Azure Local (formerly Stack HCI) integration with Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is a relatively new feature. For Nerdio Manager versions prior to v7.1, you can manually integrate AVD resources by following the steps below.

To manually ingest host pools and session hosts into Nerdio Manager, complete the following steps:

• Step 1: Set the host pool type to Hybrid in the SQL database

• Step 2: Associate VMs with AVD session hosts

• Step 3: Verify the update

Prerequisites

• Access to the Azure portal.

• Administrator privileges in Nerdio Manager.

• A working Azure Local environment with AVD resources.

Step 1: Set the host pool type to Hybrid in the SQL database

For Nerdio Manager to recognize a host pool as Hybrid, you must update the configuration directly in the SQL database. Before updating the database, ensure that the host pool exists in the database. Once this is verified, you need to connect to the Nerdio SQL database and run a SQL query.

To set the host pool type to Hybrid:

1. Verify the host pool exists in Nerdio Manager:

   1. In Nerdio Manager, locate the host pool you wish to work with.

   2. From the Manage Hosts action menu, select Properties > VM Deployment.

   3. On the VM Deployment tab, enable or disable any of the options.

      This step ensures that the host pool is saved in the database. You can undo these changes later.

2. Connect to the Nerdio Manager SQL database:

   1. In the Azure portal, locate the Key Vault with the name similar to nmw-app-kv*.

      It is provisioned in the same resource group as the app service.

   2. Locate the secret named ConnectionStrings--DefaultConnection.

   3. Retrieve the Password value. This is a subset of the connection string, not the full value.

      Note: To retrieve the Password value from the Key Vault, you need the Read and List permissions for secrets.

   4. Assign the access policy, if needed.

   5. Navigate to the SQL database with the name similar to nerdio-app-db.

   6. In the left pane, select Query editor, and then authenticate using the Password value you retrieved earlier.

      Note: Do not use the full connection string.

3. Update the HybridHostEnabled setting:

   1. Run the following SQL query to retrieve the current values. Prior to running it, make the following adjustments:

      • Replace POOL_NAME with the name of your host pool.

      • You can leave the % wrappers to search for part of the name.

      SELECT HostPoolId, HybridHostEnabled FROM [dbo].[HostPoolProperties] WHERE HostPoolId LIKE '%POOL_NAME%'

   2. Run the following SQL query to update the HybridHostEnabled value from 0 to 2. Changing the value to 2 helps the system recognize the pool as Hybrid.

      Make the following adjustments:

      • Use the ResourceID from the previous query to perform the update.

      • Replace 'RESOURCEID' with the actual Resource ID value.

      UPDATE [dbo].[HostPoolProperties] SET HybridHostEnabled = 2 WHERE HostPoolId = 'RESOURCEID'

      For example:

      /subscriptions/XXXX...XX/resourcegroups/my_resource_group/providers/Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization/hostPools/my_host_pool)

4. Verify the update:

   1. Run the first query again to confirm that HybridHostEnabled is now 2.

   2. Refresh the page in Nerdio Manager to see the host pool under the Hybrid section.

Step 2: Associate VMs with AVD session hosts

Once the host pool is set to Hybrid, the next step is to associate each VM with the appropriate AVD session host. You can do this by applying the required tags to the VMs.

To be properly associated with the session host, each VM in the host pool must have the following three tags applied:

• NMW_OBJECT_TYPE: Set the value to SESSION_HOST for all VMs in the host pool.

• NMW_ARM_HOST_POOL: Set the value to the Resource ID of the host pool.

  • Use the following format: /{subscription_id}/{resource_group_name}/{hostpool_name}

  • Example: 5d4206f2-8af2-479a-b7f9-5fb434457d5f/nme-avd-resources/nme-hci

• NMW_VM_FQDN: Set the value to the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the session host. This should match the session host name displayed in Nerdio Manager, on the Hybrid host pools page.

  • Example: my-vm.nerdiohci.local

To apply the tags:

1. Locate the host pool you wish to work with.

2. From the Manage Hosts action menu, select Manage > Custom tags.

3. On the Manage tags for [your host pool name] page, select Add.

4. Enter the tag Name and Value details.

5. Select Save.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 to apply all the tags discussed above.

Once the tags are saved, Nerdio Manager can properly associate the VMs with the corresponding session hosts.

Step 3: Verify the update

After completing the above steps, verify that the integration is successful by checking the following:

• Host Pool status: Nerdio Manager should now display the host pool as Hybrid, with session hosts properly associated.

• Standard operations: You can now perform standard actions in Nerdio Manager, such as:

  • Enabling monitoring

  • Applying FSLogix profiles

  • Running scripted actions

  • Other