Windows 365 - Enable and Configure Cloud PCs

The following topics discuss how to enable and configure Windows 365 Cloud PCs.

Enable Windows 365 in Nerdio Manager

The following procedure allows you to enable the Windows 365 environment in Nerdio Manager.

To enable Windows 365 in Nerdio Manager

1. Navigate to Settings > Azure Environment.

2. In the Intune (Unified Endpoint Management) tile, if Intune is currently disabled, the status displays as Disabled. Select Disabled to enable Intune.

3. Enter the following information:

   • Current Status: Toggle this option On to enable Intune. Toggle this option Off to disable Intune.

   • Configurable Features: Select all the desired configurable features and their related permissions.

     Note: See Unified Endpoint Management: Intune Integration - Granular Permissions for a deep dive into the features and permissions.

   • Device Visibility Scope Limitations: In this section, select the desired device visibility scope limitations.

     • Device type scope: Optionally, from the drop-down list, select the device type(s) to manage.

       Note: By default, all Intune devices are included. Optionally, device management can be limited to AVD hosts, Windows 365 Cloud PC, and/or physical devices.

     • Limit by Entra ID group: Optionally, from the drop-down list, select one or more Entra ID groups to restrict management to include only devices for the users defined within the selected groups.

       Note: This option works in combination with the selected Device type scope.

     • Include devices that have no primary user: Select this option to include any devices that have not been assigned to a user.

       Note: This option is limited by the selected Device type scope, but ignores any selected Limit by Entra ID group rules.

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

   Windows 365 is enabled in your install of Nerdio Manager.

   Notes:

   • Nerdio Manager now walks you through the process of creating a provisioning policy. You may cancel this and create a provisioning policy later. See Create a Provisioning Policy for more information.

   • A new Endpoints > Windows 365 option on the main menu is now available. See Hide or Display Individual Cloud PC Hosts Page for more information.

     

   • At the top of the window, use the tabs to navigate to the desired Windows 365 feature.

     

Hide or Display Individual Cloud PC Hosts Page

Nerdio Manager allows you to hide or display the individual Cloud PC hosts page.

When you hide the individual Cloud PC hosts page:

• The Cloud PCs hosts are shown in Endpoints > All Devices, which can be filtered for Windows 365 Cloud PCs only.

• Endpoints > Windows 365 settings only contains settings and no hosts.

When you display the individual Cloud PC hosts page:

• The Cloud PCs hosts are shown in Endpoints > Windows 365 > Cloud PCs tab.

• Endpoints > Windows 365 also contains the settings.

• The Cloud PCs hosts are also shown in Endpoints > All Devices.

To hide or display the individual Cloud PCs hosts page:

1. Navigate to Settings > Azure Environment.

2. In the Intune (Unified Endpoint Management) tile, select Enabled.

   

3. Under Cloud PC, toggle the Hide individual Cloud PC hosts page option On or Off as desired.

4. Select Save.

Configure a Windows 365 Network Connection

Windows 365 Enterprise Cloud PCs require Active Directory with Hybrid Entra ID sync. In order for that to work, you need to configure a network connection.

To configure a Windows 365 network connection:

1. Navigate to Endpoints > Windows 365 settings or Windows 365.

2. Select the Network Connections tab.

3. Select Add network connection.

4. Enter the following information:

   • Name: Type the name of the network connection.
   • Network type: From the drop-down list, select the network type.

   • Resource Group for cloud PC network cards: From the drop-down list, select the resource group to contain the network interface cards of the Cloud PC desktops.

   • Network: From the drop-down list, select the desired network and sub-net.

     Note: The Cloud PC desktops that are created on the selected network are created in the Azure region associated with the network.

   • Active Directory: From the drop-down list, select the AD profile. This provides the credentials when creating the computer objects as the Cloud PCs come online. AD profiles can be modified under Settings > Integrations within Nerdio Manager.

5. Once you have entered all the desired information, select OK.

   After several minutes, the network is created.

   Note: After the network connection is created, the Windows 365 service initiates automatic health checks to validate that the provisioning is successful. The health checks may take 30-60 minutes or longer to complete. These must pass before any Cloud PC desktops may be provisioned.

Manage Windows 365 Network Connections

Nerdio Manager allows you to manage Windows 365 network connections.

To manage Windows 365 network connections:

1. Navigate to Endpoints > Windows 365 settings or Windows 365.

2. Select the Network Connections tab.

3. Locate the network connection you wish to work with.

4. You can perform any of the following functions:

   • Select the Name to see the configuration information.

   • Select the VNet to open it in Azure.

   • Select the Domain to view the domain the network is connected to.

   • Select the Status to see the test details.

   • Select Edit to change the network connection.

   • From the action menu, select Health check to perform a health check on the network connection.

   • From the action menu, select Delete to delete the network connection.

   Note: Microsoft tests this network on a regular basis to make sure it is still healthy and functioning. If there is a problem with the network, review the test details to find and fix the issue. See this Microsoft article for more information.

Create a Provisioning Policy

A provisioning policy is a combination of a network connection with an image. It then maps the combination to an assignment of security groups in Entra ID. This enables the Cloud PC desktops to be provisioned.

To create a provisioning policy:

1. Navigate to Endpoints > Windows 365 settings or Windows 365.

2. Select the Provisioning Policies tab.

3. Select Add policy.

4. Enter the following information:

   • Name: Type the name of the policy.

   • Description: Type the policy's description.

   • License type: From the drop-down list, select the license type.

   • Cloud PC image: From the drop-down list, select the Cloud PC image. You may select either a Managed Image (created by Nerdio Manager in the Desktop Images menu), a Microsoft Gallery Image, or any of the Custom Images uploaded to Endpoint Manager directly.

   • Language & Region: From the drop-down list, select the language and region.

   • Network connection: From the drop-down list, select the desired network connection. If only one network connection is available, it is selected by default.

     Note: From the drop-down list, you can select Built In Network > Microsoft Hosted Network to provision Cloud PCs without on-premises AD domain controllers. Both customer-managed and Microsoft-managed VNets are supported. Cloud PCs provision faster and join Entra ID automatically.

   • Windows 365 license assignment mode: From the drop-down list, select Manual to manually select the security groups containing users that should be provisioned a cloud PC desktop. Alternatively, select Automatic to allow Nerdio Manager to manage entitlements and group assignments to optimize license utilization.

   • For the Enterprise license type and manual license assignment mode, enter the following:

     • Manual Entra ID group assignments: From the drop-down list, select the Entra ID security group(s) to assign to this provisioning policy.

   • For the Frontline license type and manual license assignment mode, enter the following:

     • Groups: From the drop-down list, select the Entra ID security group(s) to assign to this provisioning policy.

     • Cloud PC Size: From the drop-down list, select the required desktop sizes.

       Note: The list of available sizes reflects your organization's available licenses.

     • Select Assign to save the new group assignment.

     • Optionally, select Remove to delete a group assignment.

5. Once you have entered all the desired information, select OK.

   The provisioning policy is created.

Edit a Provisioning Policy

Nerdio Manager allows you to edit an existing provisioning policy.

To edit a provisioning policy:

1. Navigate to Endpoints > Windows 365 settings or Windows 365.

2. Select the Provisioning Policies tab.

3. Locate the desired provisioning policy and select Edit.

4. Enter the following information:

   • Force apply region change: Select this option to force apply a change to the provisioning policy's region.

     Warning: Cloud PCs are shutdown during this process. Users are disconnected and any unsaved work is lost. Cloud PCs are unavailable for all actions until the region change is complete. The process may take several hours. See this Microsoft article for details.

   • See Create a Provisioning Policy for details of the other parameters.

5. Once you have entered all the desired information, select OK.

Assign Licenses to Users

Once you have created the necessary provisioning policies, you can assign users licenses to Cloud PCs.

To assign Licenses to Users:

1. Open a browser and navigate to your Microsoft 365 admin portal. (This is not your Azure admin portal.)

2. Purchase and assign a Cloud PC SKU to a user.

   Notes:

   • The SKU determines the size of the desktop VM the user receives.

   • If the user is a member of a user group that has been assigned to a provisioning policy, and the provisioning policy has a healthy network connection and an assigned image, the desktop automatically comes online in 30-60 minutes.

Access Assigned Cloud PCs

Once Cloud PCs are provisioned, the users can access them.

To access your assigned Cloud PC:

1. Open a browser and navigate to windows365.microsoft.com or cloudpc.microsoft.com. Alternatively, use the AVD Remote Desktop Client.

2. Sign in with your Entra ID credentials.

3. In the user self-service portal, all the assigned Cloud PCs are displayed.

4. Select Open in browser to open the desired Cloud PC.

Manage Cloud PCs

Nerdio Manager enables you to manage provisioned Cloud PCs.

To manage Cloud PCs:

1. If you hide the individual Cloud PC hosts page, navigate to Endpoints > All Devices.

2. If you display the individual Cloud PC hosts page, navigate to Endpoints > Windows 365, select the Cloud PCs tab.

3. Use the Cloud PCs list's robust search and filter capabilities to locate the desired device(s).

4. Locate the device you wish to work with.

   • Select the Device Name to view the device's details in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager.

     Note: Devices with a name of Not provisioned indicate the user has a Cloud PC license assigned, but is not included on a provisioning policy.

   • Select the Provisioning Policy to view the device's policy.

   • Select a Script to view its run state.

   • The Image displays what image was used for this device and the SKU.

   • Select Restart to reboot the device.

   • From the action menu, select Reprovision to discard the current device and rebuild it.

   • From the action menu, select Resize to the change the user's Cloud PC license to a different SKU.

   • From the action menu, select Restoreto restore the Cloud PC from a restore point.