Creating a virtual desktop

The process of creating a desktop in Apporto NextGen includes the following prerequisites.

1. Creating a resource group to render applications in a browser and provide storage for users to upload and download files.
2. Creating a server pool to host the workloads of the virtual desktops.
3. Creating a desktop pool. This will enable your desktop application to be accessed across multiple regions/data centers or if you need to support cloud bursting. 

Once the above steps are completed, you can follow the steps below to create a virtual desktop. Use the information in this guide to learn how to:

• Create a desktop application
  • Create the desktop profile
  • Link the desktop to groups
  • Configure desktop options
  • View linked server pools
• Clone an existing desktop

You may also visit the related articles on viewing and managing desktops.

Create a desktop application

To begin creating a desktop application, follow the steps below.

1. Log in to the system using your credentials.
2. Click desktops or the icon in the navigation panel.
3. The list of desktops will display. You may filter the list or adjust the displayed columns to locate records. See the article on working with lists for more information.
4. Click create desktop. The system will direct you to the Create desktop page. Fill in each relevant sections for the desktop application and then click save changes to submit the form. The sections are listed below.

Create the desktop profile

The first section in the Create desktop screen covers basic application information.

The table below shows the values that make up the user profile.

Field	Datatype	Required?	Notes
Desktop name	String	Yes	A name that your users will recognize (e.g. CAD desktop)
Desktop description	String	Yes
Desktop pool	Lookup value	Yes	Select from the list of desktop pools available to you.
Desktop type	Lookup value	Yes	Windows desktop Linux desktop MacOS desktop Downloadable
Icon	Image	No	The desktop icon appears throughout the system where the desktop is referenced. Accepted formats include JPEG and PNG. A ratio of 1:1 is recommended (e.g., 100 x 100 pixels). Otherwise, your image will automatically be cropped or resized.
Published (status)	Boolean	No	By default, the desktop will be published.

Link the desktop to groups

At the bottom of the Create desktop page, you may link the new desktop to existing user groups. This will enable the users who are members of the group to access the desktop.
To assign the desktop to a group, follow the steps below.

1. From the “groups” tab, click add group.
   
   
2. The system will display the Search for groups pop-up. To make it easier to locate the appropriate group, you may adjust the visible columns or filter or search through the list.
   
   
3. From the list, check one or more checkboxes to select groups for the desktop.
4. Click add groups. The system will close the pop-up.
5. The newly linked groups will display in the tab. Click unlink to remove any unwanted groups.
   
   

Configure desktop options

A number of settings can be configured specifically for the desktop application. Those settings can be used to improve the user experience or improve the security posture of the desktop. When first opening the second tab on the screen, the default settings will display. You may update your view of the list by adjusting columns or filtering contents.

To edit a feature setting, follow the steps below.

1. From the list, click edit on a desktop feature to change its setting. This will trigger the edit pop-up.
   
   
2. Select a new value from the setting dropdown and click set value to save.
3. The updated setting will display in the settings list.

View linked server pools

Apporto will automatically retrieve any server pool associated with the selected desktop pool and display its information in the “server pools” tab. No action is required. 

Clone an existing desktop

In addition to creating a desktop application from scratch, you may wish to clone an existing desktop. This is especially helpful if multiple desktops will use similar settings.

To clone a desktop, follow the steps below.

1. From the Desktops page, click clone for the application you would like to copy.
   
   
2. The system will direct you to the Clone desktop page, which has the same fields as the Create desktop page.
   
   
3. By default, all form values are the same as on the original desktop, with the word “Copy” appended to the desktop name. You may change any desired values. See the section on creating desktops for more details on each form field.
   
4. Click save changes to finish the cloning process. The new desktop will now appear in the Desktops list.