Application servers

An application server is a cloud desktop installed with Windows Server to provide virtual applications for end users. For the application server whose desktop type is VDI, Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012 R2, 2016, or 2019 is supported. For the application server whose desktop type is physical host, Windows Server 2016 or 2019 is supported. You can create an application server based on a cloud desktop and obtain the published applications on the application server as needed from Space Console. To publish applications on an application server to users, user groups, or OUs by using an application group, you must first create the application server.

Prerequisites

Before you configure an application server, complete the following tasks:

Desktop image publication is required when the desktop type of the application server pool is VDI. To publish a desktop image:

Create a system image. In the system image, select Windows for Operating System and select a Windows Server version from the Version list. For more information, see "Create a system image."
Create an image source VM. For more information, see "Create a VDI image source VM."

Build the VDI image source VM. For more information, see "Build a VDI image source VM."

For an application server whose authentication user type is domain users, after you install the operating system and applications on the VDI image source VM, set the DNS server address to the IP address of the authentication server before you proceed to the following tasks:
- Install CAStools and VdiAgent by attaching an optical drive.
- Optimize the system services.
- Enable the remote assistance service on the VM.
For a Windows Server image source VM without the RDS service installed, the RDS service will be automatically installed during the VdiAgent installation process. To validate the settings, restart the VM after the RDS service installation is completed.

Publish a desktop image. For more information, see "Publish a VDI desktop image."

Create a VDI desktop pool. For more information, see "Create a VDI desktop pool" or "Create a physical host desktop pool."

When creating the VDI desktop pool, select Local Users or Domain Users for Assign Desktop To and Fast for Initialization Type.
Deploy application servers. For more information, see "Deploy a VDI desktop pool" or "Use a physical host desktop pool."

Create an application server

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications, and click the Application Servers tab.
Click Create.

Select the server adding type. You can add application servers one by one by specifying an IP address or add application servers in bulk by specifying an application server pool.

To add application servers one by one by specifying an IP address:

Click By IP.
Enter a name for the application server, and then enter the IP address of the cloud desktop you want to use for the application server. You can view the IP addresses of deployed cloud desktops on the Desktop Pools page.
Click Connect. Space Console will connect to the application server and obtain the applications installed on the server.
After the connection to the application server succeeds, enter the description (optional), and then click OK.

To add application servers in bulk by specifying an application server pool:

Click By App Server Pool.
Select the application server pool.
The system automatically obtains application programs installed on all application servers in the pool.

Enter the description (optional), and then click OK.

If the application server's operating system language is English, change the system language to Chinese (Simplified, China). Otherwise the names of virtual applications published through this application server will be displayed as garbled characters on the management platform.

Synchronize application information from an application server

When a change occurs on the application server (for example, an application is added or deleted), you can synchronize application information from the application server.

To synchronize application information from an application server:

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications, and click the Application Servers tab.
Perform either of the following tasks:
- To synchronize application information from multiple application servers, select the target application servers, click More on top of the application server list, and then click Sync.
- To synchronize application information from a single application server, click More in the Actions column for the target application server, and then click Sync.

Edit an application server

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications, and click the Application Servers tab.
Click More in the Actions column for the target application server, and then select Edit from the menu.
Edit the application server settings as needed and click OK. For information about the application server parameters, see "Create an application server."

Delete application servers

You cannot delete an application server that contain published applications.

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications, and click the Application Servers tab.
Perform either of the following tasks:
- To delete multiple application servers, select the target application servers, and then click Delete above the application server list.
- To delete a single application server, click More in the Actions column for the server, and then select Delete from the menu.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Enable IP virtualization settings

Space Console supports IP virtualization settings based on virtual applications. After you enable IP virtualization settings, the system assigns a virtual IP address to each virtual application session or virtual application program. You can manage the virtual application sessions and programs base on the virtual IP addresses.

Changes to the IP virtualization settings take effect only after you restart the application server.
The IP virtualization settings are not supported on the application server installed with Windows Server 2019.
Only application servers with Windows Server 2012 and later versions support IP virtualization. For versions before Windows Server 2019, IP virtualization parameters need to be configured on the management platform. For Windows Server 2019 and later versions, after configuring IP virtualization parameters on the management platform, administrators also need to manually modify the IP virtualization parameters on the application servers. See H3C Workspace Cloud Desktop Virtual Application Configuration Guide (Office Scenario) for detailed instructions.
When the session duration for connecting to virtual applications exceeds half of the DHCP lease period, the system prompts that the virtual IP address cannot be renewed. To obtain another virtual IP address, a user can disconnect from the application server, and then reconnect to the virtual applications.

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications. You are placed on the application server list page.
Click IP Virtualization Settings in the Actions column for an application server.
Configure the parameters, and then click OK.

Parameters

IP Virtualization Settings: Disable or enable IP virtualization settings. With this feature disabled, a virtual application uses the IP address of the virtual application server by default. With this feature enabled, configure parameters such as Mode and Network Adapter.
Mode: Select a mode to assign virtual IP addresses.
- Per Session: Assign a virtual IP address to each session used for connecting to virtual applications.
- Per Program: Assign a virtual IP address to each virtual application program.
  If you select Per Program, you must specify the programs to obtain the virtual IP addresses. The unspecified programs use the IP address of the virtual application server by default.
Network Adapter: Specify a network segment for virtual IP address assignment, in the format of IP address/subnet mask. For example, 192.0.2.96/24. Make sure that the DHCP server provides IP addresses from this network segment.
Programs to Be Assigned Virtual IPs: Specify programs to obtain the virtual IP addresses if you select per program mode. Separate program names with commas (,). For example, explorer.exe,mstsc.exe.

Configure LB

When multiple application servers exist, you can configure LB settings to enable automatic adjustment of the service load on the application servers. When a metric of an application server exceeds the specified threshold, new virtual application sessions cannot be established.

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications. You are placed on the application server list page.
Click More, and click Configure LB, and then configure the following settings:
- CPU Usage: CPU usage of the application server.
- Memory Usage: Memory usage of the application server.
- Disk Queue Length: Average number of disk read and write requests during the sampling interval. The larger the value, the busier the disk, and the slower the disk read and write speed.
- User Quantity: Number of users connected to the application server.
Click OK.

Open the management console of an application server

Perform this task to open the management console of an application server. Through the management console, you can install or remove applications on the server.

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications, and click the Application Servers tab.
Click Console in the Actions column for the target application server.

View application server details

From the left navigation pane, select Applications > Virtual Applications, and click the Application Servers tab.
Click the name of the target application server to view its details.