Host Pool AVD Configuration

Nerdio Manager enables you to customize the host pool's AVD settings.

To configure host pool AVD settings:

1. Locate the host pool you wish to work with.

2. From the action menu, select Properties > AVD.

3. Enter the following information:.

   • Friendly Name: Type the friendly name that is visible to the end users.

   • Description: Type the description that is visible to the administrators.

     Note: Both the Friendly Name and Description can be changed at any time.

   • Load Balancing: Select the desired load balancing option.

     Note: The load balancing algorithm is used by the AVD Management Service to determine how to route a particular user’s desktop or RemoteApp connection.

     Breadth First means that the load-balancing algorithm spreads the users evenly across all available session hosts.

     Depth First means the load-balancing algorithm places all the users in the first session host until the host's session limit is reached. Only then, does it place the users in the next session host. If necessary, it powers on the VM and makes it available to the users.

     • Session Limit: Type the number of sessions that a single host in the host pool can accept.

   • Validation environment: Select this option designate this host pool as a validation host pool.

     Note: Validation host pools receive service updates at a faster cadence than non-validation host pools, allowing you to test service changes before they are deployed broadly to production.

   • Allow the users to manually start a session host when none are started: Select this option to allow a user to sign in to Nerdio Manager and perform service actions. For example, power on the session hosts within the host pool. Only specified users that have the permissions to sign in to Nerdio Manager can start the session host VM this way.

   • Start VM on connect: The VM is powered on automatically when the user connects. Any user can start the VM when they sign in.

   • Unassign user from host pool when removing host: For personal host pools, select this option to unassign the user from the host pool when the host is deleted.

   • Collect hosts CPU usage: Select this option to have the auto-scale process always collect CPU usage regardless of the host pool's auto-scale trigger.

   • Collect hosts RAM usage: Select this option to have the auto-scale process always collect RAM usage regardless of the host pool's auto-scale trigger.

   • Collect hosts average active sessions: Select this option to have the auto-scale process always collect average active sessions data regardless of the host pool auto-scale trigger..

   • Enable Scheduled AVD Agent Update: Toggle on this option to specify the day and time you want to update the AVD agent.

     Note: Deploying updates at convenient times, or outside of peak business hours, ensures greater reliability and business continuity, while also enhancing the employee experience without interrupting business critical work.

     • Time Zone: From the drop-down list, select the time zone for the scheduled update.

       Note: Setting the time zone ensures that updates to the session host VMs in the host pool take place at the same time according to the selected time zone, regardless of the session host VMs' local time zones. See this Microsoft article for details.

     • Use local session host time zone: Select this option to perform the agent update using the local time zone of each session host VM in the host pool.

       Note: . Use this setting when all session host VMs in your host pool, or their assigned users, are in different time zones.

     • Maintenance window: From the drop-down lists, specify the day and time for the agent update.

       Note: All maintenance windows are two hours long.

     • Set additional maintenance window: Optionally, select this option to specify a second maintenance window.

       Note: Creating two maintenance windows gives the agent components an additional opportunity to update if the first update is unsuccessful.

     • Power on all hosts during window(s): Optionally, select this option to power on all hosts in a pool during maintenance window operations to ensure the installation of the latest AVD agent and other updates.

       Note: Hosts that are started as part of this process are shut down after 2 hours. Hosts that were already running do not have their power state changed.

     • Exclude Drain mode hosts: Optionally, select this option to exclude drain mode hosts from the AVD agent maintenance window tasks configured in the host pool properties.

4. Once you have entered all the desired information, select Save or Save & close.