Next, you need to set up cloning so that the pool can be automatically filled with the required number of desktops. As part of this you also perform the configuration to enable the cloned desktops to join a Windows domain.
Click the Cloning tab for the pool, as shown in Figure 7.14.
In the Desktop Cloning group, select Enable Automatic Cloning and, if you want, change the name in the Name Pattern (see Figure 7.15). The name pattern is used to generate the name of the cloned virtual machine. This is also the name of the computer that is registered in the Windows domain.
In the Cloning Metrics group, you configure the number of desktops in the pool, as follows:
Preferred Size: The number of desktops the pool normally has. Set this to 2.
Maximum Size: The maximum number of desktops in the pool. Set this to 3.
Free Desktops and Production Priority: Leave these settings at the default.
Figure 7.16 shows a completed example.
It is best to start to start with a small pool, because you can increase its size later once you are sure the pool is operating in the way you want. Once cloning starts, Oracle VDI clones a number of desktops equal to the preferred size setting. As desktops in the pool get used, Oracle VDI uses the free desktops setting to determine whether more desktops need to be cloned, but the number of desktops in the pool never exceeds the maximum size setting. When desktops are no longer in use, Oracle VDI automatically reduces the number of desktops to the preferred size.
In the Cloned Desktops group, select the template you imported into the pool from the Template drop‑down list. The template you select does not have to be a template in the pool, it could be a template in another pool for the same company.
In order to deploy desktops that are cloned from a template, some kind of system preparation is required. You can use the Microsoft Windows System Preparation tool (known as SysPrep) or Oracle VDI Fast Preparation (known as FastPrep). SysPrep requires additional preparation in the template, which includes installing the Windows Deployment tools in the template and running the sysprep program to remove the unique information (such as the computer name) from the template. FastPrep is faster than SysPrep because it does not require this additional preparation, and it simply updates the computer name. In the Cloned Desktops group, click Create next to System Preparation. The Create System Preparation File window is displayed.
In the System Preparation drop-down list, select Oracle VDI Fast Preparation making sure that you select the option that matches the operating system of your template. In the remaining fields, enter the required details as follows:
Windows Domain: The fully-qualified domain name of the Windows domain that the desktops will join.
Domain Administrator and Domain Administrator Password: The credentials of a domain administrator with permission to create a computer account and join the domain. You can prefix the administrator name with the domain, for example my.domain.com\Administrator.
Computer Container DN: The distinguished name of the container that Active Directory uses for computers. You can leave this field blank if the default container ou=Computers is used.
Read-only Domain Controller: Only select this option if the domain controllers (Windows Server 2008 and later) are configured as read‑only .
Desktop Administrator and Desktop Administrator Password: The credentials of the administrator account in the template. These credentials are used to change the computer name, join a domain, and optionally execute the custom script. For Windows 7 and later, this must be the built-in Administrator account.
Custom Script: Leave this field blank. You can use this field to specify a script that runs after FastPrep is complete.
Figure 7.17 shows a completed example.
Click OK to complete the FastPrep specification. The Create System Preparation File window is closed. A message is displayed to say that the system preparation file has been successfully added.
In the Cloned Desktops group, you can use the Machine State to specify the state you want the desktop virtual machines to be in immediately after they are cloned. Select Running from the drop‑down list. If the virtual machines are powered off (the default), the desktops do not consume any system CPU and memory resources. You can use the Available Running Desktops setting to specify the number of running desktops that Oracle VDI keeps running for when users log in. If you provide running desktops, users are able to log in and start working quickly because they do not have to wait for the virtual machine to boot. Figure 7.18 shows a completed example.
The settings in the Desktop Recycling group control what happens to the desktops when they are no longer in use. When a desktop is no longer in use, it is automatically recycled by Oracle VDI. What happens to the recycled desktop is controlled by the Policy setting, as follows:
Reset to Snapshot: The desktop is powered off and then reset to the snapshot that was taken just after the desktop was cloned (this is the default).
Reuse Desktop: The desktop is reused and remains in its existing state.
Delete Desktop: The desktop is deleted and, if this means the pool does not have the required number of desktops, a fresh desktop is cloned from the template.
A desktop is recycled, when it remains unused for the period of time configured in the Idle Timeout field. In Chapter 9, you see desktop recycling in action. To make recycling happen quickly, change the Idle Timeout to 3 minutes. Figure 7.19 shows a completed example.
Click Save. A message is displayed to confirm that the settings have been applied, and after a few moments, the top right hand corner should show that there are some jobs running, as shown in Figure 7.20.
In the top right-hand corner of Oracle VDI Manager, select Jobs Running. The Jobs Summary window is displayed. You should see that the jobs that are currently running are the desktops being cloned in the pool, as shown in Figure 7.21.
Close the Jobs Summary window. Click the Desktop tab. As the desktops are cloned, they are listed in the Desktops table. Initially the Desktop State column shows the desktops as Reserved. This indicates that Oracle VDI is working on the desktop, in this case, probably running the Oracle VDI fast preparation. The virtual machine state might change depending on the virtual machine state you selected on the Cloning tab. Eventually the Desktop State column shows that the cloned desktops are Available, as shown in Figure 7.22.
The Available state means that the desktops are ready to be used.
