Dedicated Session Provider Management

The Administrator will be able to add, update, delete and monitor dedicated session providers in HyWorks.

Supported Dedicated Session Providers

HyWorks supports hypervisors and management softwares from VMware, Microsoft, Azure and Nutanix.

Supported Providers

The table given below provides information regarding the types of dedicated providers supported in HyWorks and their respective supported versions.

Provider	<-------------	---------------	Supported Versions	----	---------------------->
VMware ESXi	7.0	6.7/6.5	6.0	5.5	5.0 (May require additional patching)
VMware vCenter Server	7.0	6.7/6.5	6.0	5.5	5.0 (May require additional patching)
Microsoft Hyper-V (GUI)	Windows Server 2012 R2	Windows Server 2016	Windows Server 2019
Microsoft SCVMM	Windows Server 2016
Nutanix AHV	PE v5.11	PE v5.10	PE v5.8.2
Nutanix Prism Central	PC v5.8.2
Microsoft Azure
Physical PCs (HyWorks Built-in)
Amazon Web Services (Beta)

Support Provider Function Capability

Dedicated desktops delivery can be done in various ways. This section provides details about the Provider functionality that HyWorks support.

Feature	<---Sub ---- ----	Feature-->	<----Nutanix Prism Central	AHV---> Prism Element	<---VMWare vCenter Server	---> ESXi	<---Microsoft SCVMM 2016	---> Hyper-V 2016/2019	Cloud Azure	HyWorks Physical PC
Deploy pool with existing VMs	Deploy pool with existing VMs	Deploy pool with existing VMs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Desktop VM Provisioning	Clone Type	Linked Clone	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
		Full Clone	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
	Clone from Snapshot	Clone from Snapshot	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
	Disk persistence	Persistent VM Deployment	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
		Non-persistent VM Deployment	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
	MAC Address Preserve on Recompose	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
SHD Provisioning	Automatic Deployment of Session Teams	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Desktop Power Operations	Desktop Power Operations	Desktop Power Operations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
OSes Support on Provider	Windows Desktops	Windows 7	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
		Windows 8.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
		Windows 10	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Windows Servers	Windows Server 2003 / 2008	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
		Windows Server 2008 R2/ 2016 /2019	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Linux Desktops	CentOS 7	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
		Ubuntu 16	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Add Dedicated Session Providers

Configuration of the dedicated Session Providers can be done from HyWorks Controller Management Console.

Add Microsoft Hyper-V/SCVMM as Dedicated Session Provider

Microsoft Hyper-V Servers are independent hypervisors from Microsoft that can be used to host desktop virtual machines. Here, System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) is the management server that can be used to manage multiple Hyper-V servers.

The HyWorks Controller can be configured with both types of Microsoft Servers to deliver dedicated desktops to the end users.

Prerequisites

Hyper-V Server:
- Must be running an supported Hyper-V Server (2012R2, 2016 (GUI)/ 2019 (GUI)
- Accops HyWorks Hyper-V Connector must be installed on the Hyper-V server in Hyper-V mode, configured and reachable from the HyWorks Controller (Refer Accops HyWorks Hyper-V Connector Installation Guide)
  - Port 38864 must be used to connect to Accops HyWorks Hyper-v Connector Service from the HyWorks Controller
SCVMM Server:
- Must be running an supported SCVMM Server: SCVMM 2016
- Accops HyWorks Hyper-V Connector must be installed on the SCVMM server in SCVMM mode, configured and reachable from the HyWorks Controller (Refer Accops HyWorks Hyper-V Connector Installation Guide)

Add Microsoft Hyper-V or SCVMM Server as the Dedicated Session Provider

Go to Configuration > Server > Session Providers
Click Add
Select the Category as Dedicated Session Provider
Select the Type as Microsoft Hyper-V/ SCVMM Server
Enter name
Enter host address or IP address
Enter RDP Port number on which the desktop virtual machines can be accessed remotely,

a. While providing connection settings to the client, HyWorks provides the same port as specified here

b. The HyWorks Controller also checks the configured port for accessibility of the respective DVMs

c. This is not the port of the Session Provider but the port on which the hosted desktops will be reached
Select Active to activate the Session Provider. Desktops from inactive session providers are not considered while providing sessions to end users.
Click Test Connection to check the configurations
On successful connection, click Add

The Session Provider should be added and the HyWorks Controller will start synchronizing the data with the configured Hyper-V or SCVMM dedicated Session Provider. Once the synchronization is completed, the status of the Session Provider will change to Reachable. It means that the HyWorks Controller has successfully connected to the dedicated Session Provider and fetched all the desktop information.

The Administrator can now create dedicated desktop pools using desktops from the configured Hyper-V/ SCVMM dedicated Session Providers.

Adding VMware/vCenter Server as the Dedicated Session Provider

VMware ESXi servers are independent hypervisors from VMware that can be used to host desktop virtual machines, whereas vCenter Server and can be used to manage multiple ESXi servers.

Pre-requisites

A supported version of VMware/vCenter Server must be up and running
- Port 443 must be used to connect to VMware servers
Appropriate user credentials with adequate rights of VMware servers must be available.
- Provided user must have rights to read all the VMs information, create/delete resource pools and virtual machine rights
- If the configured user does not have sufficient privileges, the process of obtaining the desktop details, performing power operations, provisioning etc. may fail.

Add VMware/ vCenter Server as the Dedicated Session Provider

Go to Configuration > Server > Session Providers
Click Add
Select the Category as Dedicated Session Provider
Select the Type as VMware/ vCenter Server
Enter name
Enter host address or IP address

a. The Controller automatically detects whether it is an independent ESXi server or a vCenter server.
Enter RDP port number on which the desktop virtual machines can be accessed remotely,

a. While providing connection settings to the client, HyWorks provides the same port as specified here

b. The HyWorks Controller also checks the configured port for accessibility of the respective DVMs

c. This is not the port of the Session Provider but the port on which the hosted desktops will be reached
Provide the user credentials to connect to the VMware server
Select Active to activate the Session Provider. Desktops from inactive session providers are not considered while providing the sessions to end users.
Click Test Connection to check the configurations
On successful connection, click Add

The Session Provider will be added and the HyWorks Controller should start synchronizing data from the VMware/vCenter Server dedicated Session Provider. Once the synchronization is complete, the Session Provider status should change to Reachable.

The dedicated Session Provider of the type VMware is ready for providing dedicated desktops sessions to end users using existing or provisioned desktops.

Adding Nutanix AHV as the Dedicated Session Provider

Nutanix AHV servers can be configured using the same steps as VMware, where prism central or prism element can be configured.

Prerequisites

Supported version of Nutanix prism central or prism elements must be running and ready
- Port 9440 must be used to connect Nutanix servers
Appropriate user credentials with adequate rights of Nutanix servers must be available
- Provided user must have appropriate rights to read all the VMs information, create/delete resource pools and virtual machine rights
- If the configured user does not have sufficient privileges, the process of obtaining desktop details, performing power operations, provisioning etc. may fail

Nutanix as the Dedicated Session Provider

Follow the steps listed below to add Nutanix as the dedicated Session Provider in HyWorks:

Go to Configuration > Server > Session Providers
Click Add
Select the Category as Dedicated Session Provider
Select the Type as Nutanix
Enter name
Enter host address or IP address. The Controller automatically detects whether it is an independent Nutanix prism central or prism element.
Enter RDP Port number on which the desktop virtual machines can be accessed remotely
1. When providing connection settings to the client, HyWorks provides the same port as specified here
2. The HyWorks Controller also checks the configured port for accessibility of the respective DVMs
3. This is not the port for the Session Provider but the port on which the hosted desktops will be reached
Provide user credentials to connect to Nutanix server
Select Active to activate the Session Provider. Desktops from inactive session providers are not considered while providing the sessions to end users.
Click the Test Connection to check the configurations
On successful connection, click Add

The Session Provider should be added, and the HyWorks Controller will start synchronizing the data from the Nutanix prism central or prism element Dedicated Session Provider. Once the synchronization is completed, the Session Provider status should change to Reachable.

The Dedicated Session Provider of type Nutanix should be ready for providing dedicated desktops sessions to end users using existing or provisioned desktops.

Adding Microsoft Azure as Session Provider

HyWorks v3.3 has major improvisations as the built-in cloud integration is added. Microsoft Azure can be added as a dedicated session provider and can be used to serve desktops from Azure to end-users.

All functional capabilities with Microsoft Azure are listed in the Support Provider Function Capability section. To enlist at a higher level, HyWorks can support:

Delivery of existing desktops in an Azure subscription
Provisioning of the persistent desktops in the Azure subscription

Prerequisites:

The HyWorks Controller has a direct connection to the Microsoft Azure Portal https://portal.azure.com/
The following attributes related to the Microsoft Azure Access are available:
1. Configure Azure App:
  1. Log in to https://portal.azure.com/ with your credentials
  2. Find the Azure Active Directory: https://portal.azure.com/#blade/Microsoft_AAD_IAM/ActiveDirectoryMenuBlade/Overview
  3. Go to App registration
  4. Go to New registration, provide all the details and click Create App
  5. Go to Manage > Registered application and select Certificates and secrets
    1. Click New client secret
    2. Enter the description and check expiry
    3. Click Add and copy the key
  6. Go to the app overview and copy the application ID and tenant Id.
  7. Go to Subscriptions and copy the Subscription ID
2. Configure Access Control:
  1. Select your subscription. Go to Access Control (IAM)
  2. Go to Role Assignment > click Add > Select Role Assignment
  3. Select the Role as contributor > Assign access to Azure AD user, group and Service principle > Select your app
  4. Save changes

Adding Microsoft Azure as Dedicated Session Provider

Go to Configuration > Server > Session Providers
Click Add
Select Category as dedicated Session Provider
Select Type as Azure
Enter name
Enter RDP Port number on which the desktop virtual machines can be accessed remotely
1. When providing connection settings to the client, HyWorks provides the same port as specified here
2. The HyWorks Controller also checks the configured port for accessibility of respective DVMs
3. Please note this is not the port for the session provider but the port on which the hosted desktops will be reached
Provide the following Azure portal details:
1. Application Id
2. Subscription Id
3. Tenant Id
4. Secret
Select Active checkbox to activate the Session Provider. Desktops from inactive Session Providers are not considered when providing sessions to end users
Click Test Connection to test the accessibility of Azure from HyWorks
Click Save

HyWorks should start synchronizing available desktops details from Azure. Once the synchronization is complete, the status of the Session Provider should change to Reachable.

The dedicated Session Provider of type Azure should be ready for providing dedicated desktops sessions to end users using existing or provisioned desktops

Configuring Physical Desktops in HyWorks

HyWorks v3.3 supports deliveries of physical desktops. Physical desktops can be defined as desktop systems running on physical hardware or as virtual machines on the hypervisors which are not directly supported in HyWorks.

Add Physical Desktops in HyWorks

Step# 1: Create a dedicated Session Provider of type Physical PC

Log in to the HyWorks Management Console with administrative privileges
Go to Configuration > Server > Session Providers
Click Add
Select Category as dedicated Session Provider
Select Type as Physical PC
Enter name
Enter RDP Port number on which the desktop virtual machines can be accessed remotely
1. When providing connection settings to the client, HyWorks provides the same port as specified here
2. The HyWorks controller also checks the configured port for accessibility to the respective PCs
3. Please note this is not the port of Session Provider but the port on which Physical PC will be reached
Select Active to activate the Session Provider. Desktops from inactive Session Providers are not considered when providing the sessions to end users
Click Add

The physical PC desktop provider should be added and can be used to add desktops.

Step# 2: Add physical desktops into the Physical PC provider

Physical Desktops can be added/updated/deleted in the Physical PC provider by importing a CSV file. To import a CSV of the physical desktops, follow the steps listed below:

Go to Configuration > Server > Session Providers
Click Physical PC Template to download the CSV template from HyWorks. A zipped file will be downloaded with the CSV template and instructions. The CSV file uses the following fields:
1. Add/Update: Accepts numeric 1 or 0. 1 means add/update, 0 means delete the record
2. DesktopId: Unique Id for the desktop name to be added (alphanumeric)
3. HostAddress: IP/host address of the desktop to provided
Example CSV:

Add/Update,Desktop ID,Host Address
1,test001,test001.accops.com
1,test002,test002.accops.com
1,test003,test003.accops.com
1,test004,172.23.56.89
Create a CSV file with desktop entries added as per the example provided above
Select Physical PC desktop provider, added in step #1
Click Import Physical PC
Select an appropriate format for the CSV
Browse and select the CSV file
Click Save to import all records

Desktops should be added into the Physical PC provider and the count should get updated accordingly. These desktops should be ready for use in HyWorks.

Delete a Session Provider

A Session Provider can be deleted if it is not going to be used further in the HyWorks Controller configuration.

Select the Session Provider to be deleted and click Delete
The Confirm Action dialog will be displayed stating the consequences of deleting the Session Provider.
Confirm by clicking Delete

The Session Provider should be deleted from the HyWorks configuration. Please note that Session Providers can not be deleted if there is a Provisioned pool associated with the Session Provider exists in HyWorks

Impact of Deleting a Session Provider

Deleting a Session Provider can have the following consequences:

Deleting a dedicated Session Provider may result in deletion of all the associated data, such as Desktop Pools, desktops and assignments from HyWorks. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to be cautious with Session Provider deletion. A running session may not be disconnected on the client end but will be removed from the Controller.
On deletion of the Session Provider, HyWorks does not delete any configured desktop VMs from their respective Session Provider. Any residual desktop VMs must be cleaned up manually or any such desktop pools or desktops should be deleted before deleting the Session Provider.

Modify Session Provider

The Administrator can modify a configured Session Provider. However, it is important to understand what information can be updated and what could be the impact of updating an existing Session Provider:

Modifiable Fields and Impact

Editing an existing Session Provider enables the following fields for modifications:

Name
Host Address: Critical field and should be updated only when the same server has been migrated to a different IP or host address. Using this information is how the HyWorks Controller fetches the information of Desktops and assignments, etc.

If for some reason, the same server is not available on the same host address, then the existing configuration may get corrupted. The Administrator should be cautious when updating the host address field.
Username and Password (In case of a Dedicated Session Provider - VMware/ vCenter Server or Nutanix): Critical field and should be updated only when the new user has appropriate privileges on VMware/vCenter Server, Nutanix. In case it is updated with a user with insufficient privileges, it may result in an ambiguous configuration.
Active: Critical, as specified in the configuration of each type of Session Provider, not selecting the Active checkbox will mark the Session Provider as inactive and it will be ignored while fetching Desktop information for the client. The Administrator should be cautious while marking any Session Provider as inactive as all associated clients will stop receiving Desktops.
Secret: Critical, (applicable for Microsoft Azure). Only those credentials should be used for updates that have exactly the same privileges as the previous user. Providing an invalid secret can result in disconnection from the Azure portal and failure in the delivery of desktops.

How to modify Session Provider

Select the Session Provider to be modified
Click Edit
In the Edit Session Provider dialog update the fields as per yor requirement and click Update.

Changes should be saved, and the user's sessions will be given from the new Session Host Servers.

Update Session Provider to Update the Desktop Provider Cache

The HyWorks Controller keeps the details of the desktop in it's memory and refreshes this information within an hour.

In some cases, if the details need to be updated immediately, updating the Session Provider without changing any configuration can help.

The operation of updating the Session Provider without modifying the information re-establishes the connection with the Session Provider and re-synchronizes the data.

Periodic Updates:

Desktops cache for all configured Dedicated Session Providers (e.g. VMware ESXi/vCenter Server, Microsoft Hyper-V/SCVMM Server, Azure or Nutanix) is updated every 60 minutes.

This periodic update of the Desktops cache helps to maintain the most recent list of available Desktops from the dedicated Session Provider.

Marking the Session Provider as Inactive

In instances when the Session Provider is not in use, or is under maintenance, the Administrator can mark the Session Provider as inactive.

When a Session Provider is marked as inactive:

HyWorks does not sync or communicate with this provider for updating any desktop details.
HyWorks will not process any desktop connections from the inactive Session Provider

Update/Delete Desktop Details in a Physical PC Provider

To update/delete desktop entry from a Physical PC provider, follow the steps listed below:

Select the Physical PC provider from the added servers list
Click the Export Physical PC
Select an appropriate format for the CSV to be downloaded
Click the Export to download details of all the desktops added in the selected Physical PC provider
Update CSV as per requirement
1. To update an existing record
  1. Keep Add/Update Column value as 1
  2. Keep the Desktop Id the same as before and update the Host Address value
2. To delete an existing record
  1. Update the Add/Update column value as 0
  2. Keep the other columns as they are
Example CSV: (This will delete desktop test002 and modify host address of test004)

Add/Update,Desktop ID,Host Address 1,test001,test001.accops.com 0,test002,test002.accops.com 1,test003,test003.accops.com 1,test004,172.23.56.34
Select the Physical PC desktop provider, added in step #1
Click Import Physical PCs
Select an appropriate format for the CSV
Browse and select the CSV file
Click Save to import all records All records should be modified as per the new CSV

The overall status of the Session Provider section is determined based on the status of each of the configured Session Provider.

The following possible values may appear:

Not configured: No Session Provider is configured (Color: Yellow)
Need attention: One of the configured Session Providers is not reachable (Color: Red)
Configured: All the Session Providers are reachable (Color: Green)

If the status of the Session Provider becomes unreachable after configuration, the status of the Session Providers section will change to need attention.

Advance Configurations

Refer to the Advance Configuration For Desktop Provider section for provider related settings.