Installing View Composer and Managing Linked Clone VMs

Installing View Composer and Managing Linked Clone VMs

• The need and reason for View Composer - storage and speed. Automate the provisioning of VMs. They do take time to provision.
• QuickPrep vs SysPrep - personalize the snapshot used to creating the VMs.  Quickprep is VMware's solution of Sysprep but faster. 
• Persistent disks and disposable disks - Need for personalization needs different type of disks.

View composer database stores information about connections and components that are used by View Composer:

• vCenter server connections
• AD connections
• Linked clone destops that are deployed by View Composer
• Replica that are created by View composer

Supported Windows Operating System

Supported DB for View composer

Creating a View Composer DB and ODBC Connection

Create a new database for View.

Create a new SQL Server Authentication type user for the View DB.  

Change the default DB to the new View DB created.

Map the new user as the db_owner of the new View DB.

Create the System DSN type system data souirce.

Name the new ODBC connection to the View DB server

Use SQL Server Authentication to log onto the 

View DB.

Change the default DB to the new View DB created.

Installing a View Composer

Install View Composer.

Configure View Composer to connect to the new View DB.  Specify the View DB and DB username.

Change SOAP port if desired. Default port for View Composer is 18443.  If no valid SSL certificate is installed it will use a self-signed SSL certificate.

In View Administrator, add the new View Composer server. Note: Add the FQDN of the View Composer user.

Preparing the reference Virtual Macnhine

Take snapshot of a VM to be used as a template and to be used as a sourcing VM.

Creating an automated pool with linked clone VM

In View Administrator, create a Automated Pool.

Floating user assignment.

Specify a linked clone to use

Specify the Pool ID

Specify User's state (ie. profiles) to be written to a non-disposable disk or store on the VM.

Specify the naming pattern and number of desktops that can be created.  More desktops can be created since less storage resources are used.

Specifiy the template snapshot and data storage.  Storage resources can be overcommited in different levels.

View will overcommit multiplyers:

Conservative- 4 x the size of datastore

Moderate - 7x the size of datastore

Aggressive - 15  x the size of datastore.

Replica disks can be stored on a high performance and highly available datastore to ensure best performance of virtual machines.

Customizing linked-clone VMs with QuickPrep

QuickPrep script will  be used to provision the desktops.

You can opt to use a Sysprep customization.  

AD container where the desktops are created should be specified.

In, vCenter, a copy of the parent template and its snapshot named "replica-xxxxx" is created which new desktops are sourced from.

Replica copy are smaller than the parent template

The VMs that were created from link-clones are even smaller in size.

Note that the disposable disks are tagged to the VM

Managing linked-clone VMs - Refresh, Recompose, Rebalance

Once a linked-cloned pool is created, you can manage them.

Refresh, Recompose and Rebalance.

Refresh - rebuilds VMs from original template snapshot.

Recompose - take original parent VM and flush all the VM and regenerate them from a new snapshot.  Allows you to update the entire virtual desktop infrastructure.  

Allows you to schedule the recompose.

Rebalance- Allows you to evenly distribute all the desktops across the storage resources.

Schedule the rebalance.
















Monitoring the Provisioning of Linked Clone VMs

Linked cloned VMs can be managed like any other VMs.

Inventory and Tasks tabs should be monitored.

Provisioning status and issues are identified in the Desktop Status of the View Dashboard.