How to Create a XenDesktop Desktop Image?

Applicable Products

XenDesktop 5.6
XenDesktop 5.5
XenDesktop 5

Objective

This article describes how to create a XenDesktop desktop image.

Prerequisites for a Desktop Image Virtual Machine suitable for XenDesktop

This demonstration uses a XenServer host with sufficient memory and CPU resources available to host a Windows 7 Virtual Machine.

Recommended configuration is - 2 Virtual CPUs and 2048 MB of Memory.

A Workstation running XenCenter is required to manage the creation of the Virtual Machine.

Instructions

Creating a Desktop Image Virtual Machine

From a management workstation, start XenCenter and connect to an environment for hosting the pooled desktop virtual machine.
Select the XenServer host to contain the pooled image virtual machine.

Right-click and select New VM.
On the Select a VM template screen, scroll through the selections and choose Windows 7 (64-bit).

Note: The selection in this step varies depending on the operating system for the virtual desktops required by the enterprise.
Click Next to continue.
Type a Name and Description for the master image virtual machine.
Click Next to continue.
Specify the operating system media location.
For the purposes of this guide, select the button labeled Install from ISO library or DVD drive:
Specify the ISO or media file containing the operating system installation files.
Click Next to continue.
Select Place the VM on this server.
Choose the XenServer to host the virtual machine.
Click Next to continue.
Specify the desired Number of vCPU (virtual CPU) and Memory resources to allocate to this virtual machine.
Click Next to continue.
Select the desired storage location for this virtual machine.
Click Next to continue.
Configure the virtual network interfaces per specific enterprise standards.
Click Next to continue.
Review the summary screen to ensure accuracy of all settings.
Ensure that the checkbox marked Start the new VM automatically is selected.
Once all settings have been validated, click Finish to allow XenServer to create the virtual machine.
In XenCenter, select the XenServer machine specified to host the master image virtual machine.
Navigate to the Logs tab to monitor the progress of the virtual machine creation.
Ensure to select Start the new VM automatically.
Once all settings have been validated, click Finish to allow XenServer to create the virtual machine.
If no errors occur during virtual machine creation, the new virtual machine is viewable in the navigation tree in XenCenter.
Select the new virtual machine and navigate to the Console tab.
Proceed with the installation of the operating system and all required software.