Session settings manage the environment for virtual sessions in terms of system resources, networking, access to peripherals, disconnected mode, and USB support. Settings can be assigned to a Gold Image as the default environment for that image, or they can be used to customize the environment for a specific rule in the Desktop Policies screen.
Some important factors to consider:
- The RAM and Max Size User Image must be exactly the same in both the session settings used to create the Gold Image and in the session settings applied to deploy the Gold Image to a user or group (Desktop Policy screen). If these values are different, there may be problems the first time a user tries to log in to a guest session.
- Session settings specified on the Desktop Policy screen override Gold Images screen settings, and each of them overrides the Default settings.
- The Default session settings object contains default settings for a dynamic session. Other session settings inherit the values from the default, unless overridden. If a default setting is changed, the setting is reflected in all other session settings, unless specifically overwritten.
System Session Settings
System session settings define the user’s guest session experience once applied to a Gold Image.
Set or change the following values:
- RAM (MB). The amount of RAM allocated to the guest session is in 4 MB increments. The guest default is 2028 MB.
- Maximum Size for user image (MB). The maximum guest virtual D: drive (user data) volume size, in GB. The maximum value is 256 GB. The default is 2 GB. Note: For Linux guests, the maximum user image size is 16384 MB (16 GB).
- Non-persistent user image. By default, user images persist. To delete user images after each session, check the box.
- Virtual CPUs. The number of virtual CPU’s available for a guest operating system. Valid values are 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16. Important: Windows Gold Images need to be installed or updated with the necessary drivers to support multiple virtual CPUs. Assign the highest number of CPUs to the Gold Image, check it out, let Windows install the correct drivers, restart the image, and check it back into the VERDE Management Console. Additionally, Ubuntu Gold Images should not be assigned to more than one virtual CPU during a Gold Image installation. Multiple CPUs cause file copy and reboot issues.
- Idle session shutdown timeout (minutes). The amount of time allowed for a session to be disconnected before it is shutdown.
- Maximum amount of time to wait for session to shut down before aborting (seconds). The amount of time allowed for a session to attempt to shutdown before it is aborted.
Network Session Settings
Network settings define the networking type for a guest session. NAT networking is the default setting.
Changes to Network Settings previously applied to Gold Images will not take effect until the image is shut down and restarted.
Set or change the following values:
- Network Type. The type of networking to present to the virtual machine environment. Choices are NAT or Bridged.
If Open vSwitch networking is configured, choose Bridged.
The Gold Image must be started at least one time with NAT networking configured. Following this process ensures the necessary drivers were installed and configured successfully, before being inherited by the guest session.
- Bridge Interface. The host network device to which the virtual machine is bridged (for example,
NETWORK0). If multiple networks are defined, this field becomes a drop-down list. The host networking adapter in General Settings must also be configured to allow bridging. - VLAN. If VLAN networking is configured, enter the VLAN tag to use for guest sessions.
- MAC Address Pool. If the session will use a pool of MAC addresses, select a pool from the list.
- Return MAC addresses to pool when sessions end. To return a MAC address to the pool when a guest session ends, select this option.
-
Limit Virtual Network Bandwidth. Limits the upstream traffic from the virtual desktop to the network on which it is bridged. Downstream traffic must be limited at the switch or firewall. This prevents individual users from consuming large amounts of upstream traffic on the switch, such as uploading or streaming from the virtual desktop.
A burst rate can be set to expand the resource limit if needed. For example, if the interface that the session is using has spare capacity, the session bandwidth would be allowed to expand to a specific maximum rate that is higher than the set limit.
No single socket for any protocol will exceed the bandwidth assigned in Network Session Settings.
- Limit Display Protocol Bandwidth. VERDE limits the traffic in the direction of the virtual desktop to the client. Graphics coming from the virtual desktop are affected by this limit. Data flowing upstream (from the client to the virtual desktop) is not limited by VERDE.
- For RDP, this also includes USB traffic. RDP uses only one socket for all traffic.
- For SPICE, there are multiple sockets for the audio and graphics, plus the USB device socket(s), one per device. Generally, SPICE traffic only flows on one to two sockets at a given time. However, with multimedia, the limit will most likely be exceeded because several sockets may be transmitting at once.
No single socket for any protocol will exceed the bandwidth assigned in Network Session Settings.
Security Session Settings
Security settings define the guest session’s printing, file sharing, and the clipboard for SPICE and RDP protocols.
The following options are available.
- Printing. This enables printing to a default host or client printer from a virtual machine.
If not enabled, a Save As dialog is displayed to the user instead of Print. The user can save the document to a file, but cannot print it.
- File Sharing. This parameter defines shared folders on the host only. VDI clients can access local folders if those folders are shared on the client.
- Clipboard. Allow cut/copy and paste between guest and host applications, or between guest and client applications.
Protocol Session Settings
Protocol settings specify which network protocols are available for the user accessing the desktop session. Depending on the end user’s location and system/infrastructure, protocols may be restricted for performance reasons. Each connection requires RDP and/or SPICE for Windows sessions, and SPICE for Linux sessions. These settings determine the choices available to a user from the VERDE User Console. If only SPICE options are selected, the VERDE User Console will not display a protocol choice.
SPICE requires more resources to manage high definition video and may not be appropriate for all networks.
The different available connections include:
- LAN. Uses a LAN connection for client sessions.
- Broadband. Uses a broadband connection for client sessions.
- DSL. Uses a DSL connection for client sessions.
- Modem. Uses a modem connection for client sessions.
Confirm the client machine and Gold Image are configured to support the selected protocol.
USB Session Settings
USB settings enable the guest operating system to access the USB devices that are plugged into the client. You can choose to support all devices except human interface devices (HID), or you can specify certain ones.
Either the client or the guest can control these USB devices, but not both. However, human interface devices (HID) such as a mouse and keyboard are controlled by the client and are available for use by both the client and the guest virtual machine.
To enable composite USB devices:
- List device in the "include" list by its USB device class code, including the vendor ID and product ID.
- Select "Add +" to add entries to the list.
For information about USB device class codes, visit the USB developer site.
-
Enter an optional name in the "Label" field. The following options are available.
- USB Peripheral Support. Allows all USB devices to connect to the client through the guest session.
- All USB Devices except HID. Allows all USB devices to connect to the client through the guest session (except a human interface device).
- Include List. Allows specified USB devices. To specify individual devices and all other non-HID devices, add a final row with values of 0000.
Active Directory Session Settings
Define session settings for guest sessions to authenticate with the Active Directory domain. Configure the settings listed in the table below.
Active Directory Settings
| Active Directory Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Desktop Name Prefix | Active Directory requires a computer name to access the domain. Guest sessions will access the domain with this name. The name is the prefix plus a sequence number assigned by the system. |
| AD Domain Name | The fully qualified name of the Active Directory domain. |
| Optional: AD Organizational Unit |
To limit the directory search to a specific organizational unit, enter the OU. This prevents a search through the entire directory tree. If there are multiple or nested organizational units, confirm they are listed in order of inner unit to outer. For example, a single layer would be listed as:
|
| AD Administrator User Name |
Enter the fully qualified Active Directory administrator user name. For example: username@domain.example.com |
| AD Administrator Password and Confirm Password | Enter and confirm the administrative account password. |
Advanced Settings
Sessions can be put into priority groups where CPU, login, and runtime can be governed. For example, system priority can be given to users who need more resources during login than during the actual running of a session. Confirm overall use and system planning information is defined before adjusting these settings.
| Setting | Description |
| VCPU % Limit | Sets the maximum percentage of CPU that a session can consume. Values are per virtual CPU. For example, if a guest has one virtual CPU, a 30% value would mean that it never uses more than 30% of a single host CPU thread. If the guest has two virtual CPUs, 30% means 60% of host. A value of 0 is unlimited. |
| Boot priority | Sets the session priority from early boot to the start of the guest service agent. |
| Logon priority | Sets the session priority from the start of the guest service agent to start of the guest user agent. |
| Runtime Priority | Sets the session priority from start of the guest user agent and continues while the session is connected. |
| Timer Interrupt Optimization | Sets the rate at which interrupts can occur within a session. This setting is used for sessions that need resources for multi-media use. |
| Enable Clock Drift Fix | The virtual machine synchronizes with the server every 8 seconds. Enable this for more frequent synchronization. |
| Automatically create local user | Creates a local VERDE account for a user that logs into the VERDE User Console or VERDE Client to launch a Linux session. |
| Enable single sign on (Linux guest) | Leave this setting checked on. |
Resource Settings
Assign resource tags to sessions to confirm that those sessions run on a particular server. They are simply identification tags that enable resource assignment in a clustered environment. Resource tags are created under General Settings, associated with servers in Computer Resources, and assigned to guest sessions through Session Settings. Perform the following to assign resource tags to sessions:
On the Resources tab, select one or more resources.
