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Test Lab Guide: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Quick Start

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Applies To: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

In Windows Server 2012, the Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) deployment is a scenario-based installation that allows you to install, configure, and manage your virtual desktops from a central location. With the VDI deployment scenario, you are presented with two deployment types:

Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Quick Start   Installs all the necessary Remote Desktop Services role services on one computer to let you install and configure them in a test environment.

Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) standard deployment   Allows you to flexibly deploy the Remote Desktop Services role services to servers. To use the standard deployment instead of the Quick Start, see: Test Lab Guide: Remote Desktop Services Session Virtualization Standard Deployment.

This test lab walks you through a VDI Quick Start deployment. The deployment process completes the following tasks:

  • Installs the Remote Desktop Connection Broker (RD Connection Broker), Remote Desktop Virtualization Host (RD Virtualization Host), and Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access) role services on a single computer.

  • Creates a pooled virtual desktop collection that is based on a virtual hard disk of the virtual desktop template.

  • Creates a Hyper-V network switch named RDS Virtual and assign the pooled virtual desktop to that switch.

In this guide

This topic contains instructions for setting up a test lab based on the Test Lab Guide: Base Configuration test lab and deploying a VDI Quick Start deployment that uses two servers and one client computer. The resulting test lab demonstrates how to successfully deploy a VDI Quick Start deployment.

Important

The following instructions are for configuring a VDI Quick Start deployment test lab that uses the minimum number of computers. Individual computers are needed to separate the services that are provided on the network and to clearly show the desired functionality. This configuration is not designed to reflect best practices or to reflect a desired or recommended configuration for a production network. The configuration, including IP addresses and all other configuration parameters, is designed to work only on a separate test lab network.

Test lab overview

In this test lab, Remote Desktop Services is deployed with:

  • One computer running Windows Server 2012 named DC1 that is configured as an intranet domain controller, Domain Name System (DNS) server, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and an enterprise root certification authority (CA).

  • One intranet member server running Windows Server 2012 named APP1 that is configured as the VDI Quick Start deployment server.

  • One client computer running Windows 8 named CLIENT1 that is used to connect to the VDI Quick Start deployment.

In addition, the VDI Quick Start test lab includes:

  • One subnet (10.0.0.0/24) that simulates an intranet named Corpnet.

  • Computers connected to each other by using a Hyper-V virtual switch as shown in the following figure.

Hardware and software requirements

The following are required components for the test lab:

  • The computer on which are you installing the Quick Start must have access to join computers to the domain. For the purposes of this guide, APP1 computer object must have permissions to join computers to the CORP domain.

  • The virtual desktop template (a virtual hard disk) must be generalized by using Sysprep and then shut down.

  • The product disc or files for Windows Server 2012.

  • The product disc or files for Windows 8.

  • A physical computer that meets the minimum hardware requirements for Windows Server 2012.

Note

If you choose the VDI scenario-based installation, a virtual switch named RDS Virtual is automatically created.

Steps for configuring the test lab

There are four steps to follow when you set up a VDI Quick Start deployment test lab that is based on Test Lab Guide: Base Configuration.

Step 1: Complete the base configuration test lab   The VDI Quick Start deployment test lab requires using the base configuration test lab as its starting point.

Step 2: Configure APP1   APP1 is a computer running Windows Server 2012 that is configured in the base configuration, and it will host the VDI Quick Start.

Important

You must have hardware-assisted virtualization on APP1 to successfully complete this test lab. Since all the role services will be installed on APP1 in this Quick Start, APP1 cannot run in Hyper-V. You can run all Remote Desktop Services roles on Hyper-V virtual machines except for the RD Virtualization Host role service.

Step 3: Test Remote Desktop Services connectivity   CLIENT1 is a computer running Windows 8 that is used to test that you can successfully connect to the VDI Quick Start deployment virtual desktop collection.

Step 4: Take a snapshot of the configuration   At the completion of the lab, a snapshot of the configuration will enable you to later return to a working VDI Quick Start deployment test lab.

Note

You must be logged on as a member of the Domain Admins group or a member of the Administrators group on each computer to complete the tasks that are described in this guide. If you cannot complete a task when you are logged on with an account that is a member of the Administrators group, try performing the task when you are logged on with an account that is a member of the Domain Admins group.

Step 1: Complete the base configuration test lab

This test lab guide uses the base configuration test lab as a starting place. Before you proceed with the remainder of the steps in this guide, complete the steps in the Test Lab Guide: Base Configuration. If you have already completed the steps in Test Lab Guide: Base Configuration, and you saved a disk image or a virtual machine snapshot of the base configuration, you can restore the base configuration in Hyper-V Manager, and then proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Configure APP1

The APP1 configuration for the VDI Quick Start deployment test lab consists of deploying VDI Quick Start.

To deploy the VDI Quick Start

  1. Log on to the APP1 server with the CORP\User1 user account.

  2. Server Manager will start automatically. If it does not automatically start, click Start, type servermanager.exe, and then click Server Manager.

  3. In the QUICK START section, click Add roles and features.

  4. On the Before you begin page of the Add Roles and Features Wizard, click Next.

  5. On the Select installation type page, click Remote Desktop Services installation, and then click Next.

  6. On the Select deployment type page, click Quick Start, and then click Next.

  7. On the Select deployment scenario page, click Virtual machine-based desktop deployment, and then click Next.

  8. On the Select a server page, accept the default selections, and then click Next.

  9. On the Select a virtual desktop template page, in the Virtual hard disk location box, click Browse.

    Navigate to the location of the virtual desktop template, click Open, and then click Next.

  10. On the Confirm selections page, select the Restart the destination server automatically if required check box, and then click Deploy.

    Note

    The computer will restart after the RD Virtualization Host role service is installed. After the restart is complete and you log on as CORP\Administrator, VDI Quick Start will finish the installation.

Step 3: Test Remote Desktop Services connectivity

You can ensure that VDI Quick Start deployed successfully by connecting to the virtual desktop collection that was created during installation. You log on to the RD Web Access server on the APP1 computer and connect to the QuickVMCollection virtual desktop collection.

Note

If you plan to connect to an RD Web Access server website from a server, you must turn off Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration by using Server Manager.

To connect to the virtual desktop collection

  1. Log on to the CLIENT1 computer with the CORP\User1 user account.

  2. Open Internet Explorer. (To open Internet Explorer, click Start, and then click Internet Explorer.)

  3. In the Internet Explorer address bar, type https://app1.corp.contoso.com/RDWeb, and then press ENTER.

  4. Click Continue to this website (not recommended).

  5. In the Domain\user name box, type CORP\Administrator.

  6. In the Password box, type the password for the CORP\Administrator user account, and then click Sign in.

  7. Click QuickVMCollection, and then click Connect.

Step 4: Take a snapshot of the configuration

This completes the VDI Quick Start deployment. To save this configuration so that you can quickly return to a working VDI Quick Start deployment configuration from which you can test other Remote Desktop Services modular test lab guides (TLGs), TLG extensions, or for your own experimentation and learning, do the following:

  1. On all physical computers or virtual machines in the test lab, close all windows and then turn them off.

  2. If your lab is based on virtual machines, save a snapshot of each virtual machine and name the snapshots. If your lab uses physical computers, create disk images to save the VDI Quick Start deployment test lab configuration.

Additional Resources