Reference Information › Application Catalog Reference Guide › VDS: Virtual Dedicated Server Application Templates › VDI_WIN8

VDI_WIN8

This section contains the following topics:

Functional Overview

Boundary

Typical Usage

Notes

Limitations and Requirements

Functional Overview

VDI_WIN8E and VDI64_WIN8E are dedicated virtual desktop instances. They are designed to be deployed as standalone applications with no catalog parts.

The VDI provide hosting providers a quick and easy way to offer a dedicated server offering on the CA AppLogic grid. Depending on your resource needs, the applications can scale from approximately one twentieth of a physical server to a full physical server.

VDI include a basic build environment with GCC, if available.

The VDI instances configure themselves through properties on first boot. The initial user is created and the root password is placed in a file, /home/<user>/su.txt. You can reset the VDI to their default properties by deleting /appliance/passwd.stamp from the appliance and restarting the application.

Support for Windows 8 based appliances and applications are available in versions later than 3.7.7.

Note: These applications are not installed on the grid. For instructions on installing the applications, refer to the Windows Installation section of the Appliance Developer Guide.

Boundary

Resources

VDI_WIN8E

VDI64_WIN8E

Terminals

There are no terminals.

The raw interface is enabled. You must configure the raw interface in the GUI before starting the application. These applications use the multiple external interfaces feature.

The default interface is enabled. It is used for maintenance (incoming ssh connections from the controller).

User Volumes

None

Properties

Typical Usage

The VDS is used by hosting providers to offer dedicated servers using CA AppLogic without the need for any other third party software or licenses.

The VDS is distributed only as an application containing a single instance of the appliance and does not reside in any catalogs.

Notes

By way of example, provisioning the VDS can be done by running a single command that can be automated from the providers portal.

app provision VDS_WIN12DC ExampleClient \ 

    user=Exampleuser user_pw=abcd1234 admin_pw=acbde12345 \ 
    primary_ip=fe80::1/64 secondary_ip=209.100.100.12 netmask=255.255.255.0 gateway=209.100.100.1 \ 
    ipv6_gateway=fe80::10 hostname=mydomain.com dns1=fe80::5 dns2=209.101.1.3 \ 
    cpu.dflt=0.50 mem.dflt=1G VDS_WIN12DC.boot.size=10G 

Notes

By way of example, provisioning the VDS can be done by running a single command that can be automated from the providers portal.

app provision VDS_WIN12DC ExampleClient \ 

    user=Exampleuser user_pw=abcd1234 admin_pw=acbde12345 \ 
    primary_ip=fe80::1/64 secondary_ip=209.100.100.12 netmask=255.255.255.0 gateway=209.100.100.1 \ 
    ipv6_gateway=fe80::10 hostname=mydomain.com dns1=fe80::5 dns2=209.101.1.3 \ 
    cpu.dflt=0.50 mem.dflt=1G VDS_WIN12DC.boot.size=10G 

Activate Microsoft Windows

The Windows appliances are pre-built with Microsoft Windows inactivated. You must activate Windows using your Microsoft Site License Key. This ensures provisioned Windows applications have the benefits of being officially activated with Microsoft.

Once you import the Windows VDS or VDI template application, use the following procedure to activate Windows using your Microsoft Site License Key.

Follow these steps:

1. Import template application.
2. Configure the template with the IP address and mandatory properties: hostname, user, user_pw, admin_pw, dns1, dns2.
3. Start the application.
   • If using a VDI template application, open the graphic console and, at the prompt, create a local username and password.

     A prompt for a username and password displays during the last stage of the process. Windows uses the username and password to create a local user account for the configuration to complete. You will use this user account to log in to the Windows appliance and activate your site license key.

     To create the Local User Account during startup, login using the graphical console.

     1. Open Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users.
     2. Right click and create the new user.
   • If using a VDS, no local username is needed.

   When the application is starting, the Sysprep specialize phase is in process.

4. To activate Windows using your site license key:
   1. After the appliance is in the Running state, log in to the Windows appliance using the graphical console
   2. Open Control Panel > System and Security > System and enter your site license key
   3. If using the Win8 VDI template, launch the slui 3 utility and enter your site license key.
5. If using a VDI template application, remove the Local User Account you just created using one of the following methods:
   • Open Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users, right click and delete the user account.
   • Or open the Cygwin shell and enter the following command:

     net user <username> /DELETE
     

6. Remove the Local User Account from /etc/passwd by opening a Cygwin shell and using one of the following methods:
   • Use the VI editor to enter the following command and remove the account:

     vi /etc/passwd
     

   • Or, enter the following commands: 

     mkpasswd -l  > /etc/passwd
     sed -i -e 's/^Administrator:/root:/' /etc/passwd
     

7. Remove the /appliance/passwd.stamp file by running the following command from a Cygwin shell:

   rm -f /appliance/passwd.stamp
   

8. Shut down the application.
9. Unconfigure the template by removing the IP address and mandatory property values: hostname, user, user_pw, admin_pw, dns1, dns2

   The template is now ready to be provisioned.

Limitations and Requirements

The following directories MUST be left intact. Any changes to any files in these directories can cause the appliance to stop working.

C:\appliance

C:\cygwin

C:\Program Files\Halsign TurboGate

Preventing vmad or vme from the c:\appliance directory from running on start will cause the appliance to stop working on next restart.

Open Source and Third Party Software used Inside the Application

The VDS_WIN08 and VDS_WIN12 applications use the following open source and third party packages from Cygwin in addition to any open source and third party packages which may be installed with Windows itself.

Error Messages

In case of application startup failure, the following errors may be logged to the system log: