Nerdio Manager for Enterprise allows you to create a desktop image either from an existing image in the Azure library or by importing an existing Azure VM.
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Navigate to Cloud Desktops > Desktop Images.
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From the bottom-right of the page, select Create.
The Create Desktop Image dialog opens. It contains the following sections: VM, Join to AD, Settings, Clean up, Scripted Actions & Apps, Image, Replication, and Tags.
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Select the tab that matches the source of your desktop image, and enter the information listed.
Note
For several of the required parameters, you may filter the available choices by using the resource selection rules. For example, you may filter the VM size or OS disk choices for Intel RAM-optimized VMs only. See Resource Selection Rules Management for details.
UI Element
Type
Description
Source
Drop-down list
From the drop-down list, select Azure library to create the image from an existing image in your library.
Name
Text field
Enter the desktop image's name.
Description
Text field
Enter the description.
Network
Drop-down list
Select the network to which the VM connects. The VM is created in the Azure region associated with the network.
Azure image
Drop-down list
Select the desired image based on your Windows OS requirements, as supported by AVD, for example Windows 11 EVD Multi-Session (EVD = Enterprise Virtual Desktop). Images labeled Microsoft 365 Apps include a pre-installed version of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, activated when licensed users sign in to the desktop. The list contains all standard Azure Marketplace images as well as all custom managed images available inside your Azure subscription.
Use the "staged" image version
Toggle
If enabled, this desktop image will be created using the "staged" image version of the selected desktop image, if one is available. This setting is only available for desktop images with Geographic distribution & Azure compute gallery enabled.
VM size
Drop-down list
Select the size.
OS disk
Drop-down list
Select the disk. You can also select the performance tier.
Resource group
Drop-down list
Select the resource group to contain the network interface cards of the VM.
Optimize disk type when desktop image is stopped
Checkbox
Downgrades the OS disk type when the desktop image is stopped in order to save money. When the VM starts, the OS disk type is changed back to the selected one.
UI Element
Type
Description
Source
Drop-down list
From the drop-down list, select Azure VM to import an existing VM as the desktop image.
SAS URL
Text field
Paste the SAS URL generated from the Azure portal. Your VM needs to be based on a Managed Disk: in the Azure portal, stop the VM, go to its OS disk, and select Disk Export to generate the URL.
Name
Text field
Enter the desktop image's name.
Description
Text field
Enter the description.
Network
Drop-down list
Select the network to which the VM connects. The VM is created in the Azure region associated with the network.
OS
Drop-down list
Select the operating system of the VM. If the selected OS requires Hyper-V Generation 2 (for example, Windows 11) and Gen2 is not yet enabled, a message displays prompting you to enable Create image VM as Gen2 on the Settings step, or to choose a Gen1-compatible image instead.
VM size
Drop-down list
Select the size.
OS disk
Drop-down list
Select the disk. You can also select the performance tier.
Resource group
Drop-down list
Select the resource group to contain the network interface cards of the VM.
Optimize disk type when desktop image is stopped
Checkbox
Downgrades the OS disk type when the desktop image is stopped in order to save money. When the VM starts, the OS disk type is changed back to the selected one.
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Select Next.
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Configure the following:
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Join to AD: Enabled by default. Deselecting this means the VM is not joined to AD during the creation process. This prevents AD GPOs from applying to the image before it is created. Be sure to specify local administrator credentials in the Custom credentials field on the Settings step, since the VM won't be a member of the AD domain.
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From the drop-down list, select the Active Directory domain to join, for example denver.int (default).
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Select Next.
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Enter the following information:
UI Element
Type
Description
Hibernation supported
Checkbox
Select this option if you want to allow the VM to hibernate. Hibernation provides the ability to deallocate your virtual machine while persisting the memory contents, allowing you to resume from where you left off the next time you start your VM. Hibernation cannot be enabled or disabled after the image is created.
Specialized image
Checkbox
Select this option if the image is a specialized image. Generalized images have had machine and user-specific information removed by running a command on the VM. Specialized images retain this information and have not gone through the generalization process.
Run sysprep in
Drop-down list
Select the context in which Sysprep should run on the VM, for example System-context.
Create image VM as Gen2
Checkbox
Available only when Azure VM is selected as the source on the VM step. Select this option to create the VM as Gen2. By default, desktop image VMs are created as Gen1. If the selected OS requires Gen2 and this option is not selected, a message displays prompting you to choose a Gen1-compatible Azure image to continue. See Support for Generation 2 VMs on Azure for details.
Time zone redirection
Checkbox
Select this option to enable time zone redirection on the image. This allows each user to see their local device's time zone inside of their AVD desktop session.
Set time zone
Toggle
Toggle this option On to set the time zone of the VM, then, from the drop-down list, select the time zone.
Boot diagnostics
Toggle
Enabled by default. Collects and stores diagnostic logs and screenshots while the VM boots.
Boot diagnostic storage account
Drop-down list
Applies only if Boot diagnostics is enabled. Leave this field set to Managed Storage Account (recommended) to store boot diagnostic logs in an Azure-managed storage account, or select a user-managed storage account from the list.
Security type
Drop-down list
Select the security option that best suits your desktop image VM. Standard is set by default. Additional security options are only available for generation 2 VMs with Geographic distribution & Azure compute gallery enabled. Trusted launch and Confidential virtual machines improve security but have some limitations, such as lack of support for backup, managed disks, and ephemeral OS disks. See Trusted launch for Azure virtual machines and About Azure confidential VMs for details.
Secure Boot
Checkbox
Available only when Trusted launch virtual machines is selected as the Security type. Enables Secure Boot, which helps protect your VMs against boot kits, rootkits, and kernel-level malware.
vTPM
Checkbox
Available only when Trusted launch virtual machines is selected as the Security type. Enables Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM), which is TPM 2.0 compliant and validates your VM boot integrity apart from securely storing keys and secrets.
Integrity Monitoring
Checkbox
Available only when Trusted launch virtual machines is selected as the Security type. Enables cryptographic attestation and verification of VM boot integrity along with monitoring alerts if the VM didn't boot because the attestation failed with the defined baseline.
Encryption at host
Toggle
Disabled by default. Provides end-to-end encryption for your VM data at rest and in transit, starting with the Azure hosts.
Custom credentials
Toggle
Disabled by default. Toggle On to enter the admin username and password for a local administrator user.
Install App Attach certificates
Checkbox
Select this option to install all the stored certificates on the VM, if applicable. To view the stored certificates, navigate to App Attach > Certificates.
Enable App-V client service
Checkbox
Select this option if the VM will use App Attach packages that contain App-V packages.
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Select Next.
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Select the tab that matches the source of your desktop image, and enter the information listed.
UI Element
Type
Description
Skip removal of local profiles
Checkbox
Select this option to bypass this step and not remove local user profiles before running Sysprep. During the image creation process, Nerdio Manager removes all local user profiles. This increases the likelihood of Sysprep success. Selecting this option bypasses this step. If there are any partially installed APPX apps on the image VM, Sysprep will fail to remove them.
Uninstall legacy VDI agents
Checkbox
Select this option to attempt to remove Citrix and Omnissa VDI agents from the VM before capturing the image. Only detected agents are removed.
Remove FSLogix apps
Checkbox
Selected by default. Select this option to remove the FSLogix agent if it's found on the image. The FSLogix agent is not required on the desktop image: the latest FSLogix agent will be installed automatically on session hosts that are created from this desktop image.
UI Element
Type
Description
Skip removal of local profiles
Checkbox
Select this option to bypass this step and not remove local user profiles before running Sysprep. During the image creation process, Nerdio Manager removes all local user profiles. This increases the likelihood of Sysprep success. Selecting this option bypasses this step. If there are any partially installed APPX apps on the image VM, Sysprep will fail to remove them.
Uninstall legacy VDI agents
Checkbox
Select this option to attempt to remove Citrix and Omnissa VDI agents from the VM before capturing the image. Only detected agents are removed.
Uninstall FSLogix app
Checkbox
Selected by default. Use this option if FSLogix app is already installed in the base image and you want to remove it in order to allow Nerdio Manager to manage FSLogix.
Uninstall AVD agent
Checkbox
Use this option if you're creating an image from an existing AVD session host where the AVD agent has been previously installed. Be sure to uninstall the AVD agent before you set this imported VM as a desktop image. See Desktop Images Manually Uninstall AVD Agent for details.
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Select Next.
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Enter the following information:
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Run the following scripted actions: Toggle this option On, then from the drop-down list, select the scripted action to run during creation.
Note
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Windows scripts are executed via the Azure Custom Script extension and run in the context of LocalSystem account on the clone of the desktop image VM before it is sysprepped. These commands do not run on the image VM itself.
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Azure runbooks are executed via the Azure automation account and run in the context of Nerdio Manager app service principal.
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Several variables are passed to the script and can be used in the PowerShell commands.
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If necessary, provide the required parameters.
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Pass AD credentials: Select this option to pass AD credentials that are specified on the Settings > Integrations > Active Directory page to the scripts being executed. In the script, reference them as $ADUsername and $ADPassword.
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Target VM: Select whether the scripted action runs against the Clone of the desktop image VM (default) or the Source VM.
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Applications management: Toggle this option On to specify the applications to deploy during creation.
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Applications: In the applications list, select Add new application, and then from the drop-down list, select the application to include in this policy.
Note
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You may add as many applications as desired.
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Drag and drop an application in the list to change its order on the list.
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Select the "X" next to an application to remove it from the list.
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Select one of the following for the added application or application group:
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Install app: Installs the selected application.
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Uninstall app: Uninstalls the selected application.
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Install group: Installs the selected application group.
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Uninstall group: Uninstalls the selected application group.
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In the Search application field, select the app or application group to install or uninstall, based on the option selected above.
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Show favorites only: Select this option to display only those applications that are marked as favorites. Otherwise, you may search the list of applications.
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Reboot after installation: Select this option to reboot the clone of the desktop image VM after this application is installed. Subsequent application tasks will resume once the reboot is complete.
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Target VM: Select whether the application action runs against the Clone of the desktop image VM (default) or the Source VM.
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Select Next.
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Enter the following information:
UI Element
Type
Description
Do not create image object
Checkbox
Select this option to create only a desktop image VM but not an image object. You need to create the image object: select Power off and set as image after the VM is created before this desktop image can be used for session host creation. If you skip image creation, you can make changes to the VM before it is converted to an image.
Geographic distribution & Azure compute gallery
Toggle
Enabled by default. Stores the image in an Azure Compute Gallery and automatically distributes it to the selected Azure regions.
Azure compute gallery
Text field / drop-down list
Type a name to select an existing Azure compute gallery or create a new one. Only one Azure Compute Gallery can be selected. The existing gallery must be in a linked resource group in the same Azure subscription as the image VM.
Azure regions
Multi-select
Automatically populates with the region associated with the selected gallery. You can remove or add regions where the Desktop Image version should be replicated. The current Azure region must be part of the selection.
Replica count (per region)
Text field
Specify the number of replicas per region. Azure Compute Gallery replicas support a maximum of 20 concurrent clone operations per replica. Up to 100 replicas per region are supported. Replicas can only be deployed within the same subscription.
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Select Next.
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Enter the following information:
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Enable for Cloud PCs: Requires Windows 10/11 Enterprise. Not available for AVD, EVD, or CIS images.
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Custom (Azure local) locations: From the drop-down list, select any custom Azure local locations to replicate the image to.
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Nutanix cluster (AVD Hybrid on Nutanix AHV only): From the drop-down list, select the Nutanix cluster where the image should be synchronized.
Note
Only managed image versions (Active or Staged) are synchronized to Nutanix. Unmanaged (backup) versions are not synchronized. For more details, see Create a VM Template for Nutanix Host Pools.
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Select Next.
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Enter the following information:
Note
You can specify multiple tags. The specified tags are applied to image VM, OS disk, network interface, image object, and Azure Compute Gallery image. For details about using tags to organize your Azure resources, see Use tags to organize your Azure resources and management hierarchy.
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Tag groups: Optionally, select a predefined tag group from the drop-down list to apply its tags automatically.
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Name and Value: Optionally, enter a custom tag name and value.
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Select Submit.
Nerdio Manager for Enterprise begins creating the desktop image. This may take up to an hour to complete. You can monitor progress on the Tasks tab of the Desktop Images page.
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