These steps are part of the alternative manual method for importing a VM for use as a golden image in a pod in Microsoft Azure. Manually building a virtual machine (VM) that conforms to the environment's requirements for importing into Horizon Cloud is a multi-step process. You perform most of these steps in the Microsoft Azure portal. You first create and configure a base VM, then install agent-related software components into that base VM, and then configure specific properties for those agent-related components.

Use these steps only if you do not want to use the automated wizard and instead want to manually build the VM using the Microsoft Azure portal or if you have already manually built a VM using the Microsoft Azure portal and you want to use that VM as the basis of a golden image in Horizon Cloud. The recommended automated way to build a golden image for a pod in Microsoft Azure is to use the wizard. For details about using the automated wizard, see Create a Base Virtual Machine Automatically from the Microsoft Azure Marketplace and Pair it with Horizon Cloud on a Per-Pod Basis.

Important: If you have a VM in Microsoft Azure that you want to import into Horizon Cloud for a golden image, you must ensure it conforms to the same criteria as when a VM is built and imported using the manual steps documented in Create the Virtual Machine Manually in Your Pod in Microsoft Azure. If the VM does not conform to the same criteria, Horizon Cloud cannot consume it to display in its console and use in the Convert to Image workflow. The following criteria are critical:
  • Before installing the agent-related software, the base VM must have the Storage - Use managed disk setting set to Yes. If the base VM does not adhere to this setting, Horizon Cloud cannot consume this VM.
  • The base VM must be in the same Microsoft Azure location as the pod where you want to use that base VM.
  • The base VM must be put into a specific resource group in your Microsoft Azure subscription. This resource group is one that belongs to the pod where you plan to use that base VM. The resource group is named vmw-hcs-podID-base-vms, where podID is the pod's UUID identifier.
  • The base VM must be connected to the same virtual network to which the pod is connected.
  • The base VM must be connected to the pod's subnet named vmw-hcs-podID-net-tenant.
  • The base VM must use an operating system currently supported for use in this Horizon Cloud release. Links to knowledge base articles about the supported operating systems can be found in the documentation topic Horizon Cloud — Environments, Operating Systems, and Compatibility.
  • Do not configure the base VM to use IPv6 IP addresses. Horizon Cloud will report an IP abnormal alert in the Desktop Health tab for VMs that are based on a VM that uses IPv6 IP addresses.

To verify your base VM meets that criteria before you start to configure it further, log in to Horizon Cloud, navigate to the Inventory VMs page, and verify your base VM is listed on that page. If it is listed, then that base VM meets the above criteria and you can safely proceed with the remaining configuration steps starting with the topics listed in Prepare the Manually Created VM Prior to Installing the Agents.