Adding a VDI provider

To set up a Remote PC pool in the RAS Console, you first need to add a VDI provider of type Remote PC. This is a special type that exists specifically for the purpose of creating and managing Remote PC pools. It is not a real VDI provider, so it doesn't need a hypervisor installed. It simply uses the existing VDI functionality to create and manage computer pools. Note that when you add a VDI provider of this type, you can manage it like any other real VDI provider with some limitations, such as you cannot create templates and use some other strictly VDI (hypervisor)-specific functionality.

To add a VDI provider of type Remote PC:

1. Navigate to Farm > <Site> > VDI.
2. On the Providers tab, click Tasks > Add.
3. On the first page of the Add VDI Provider wizard, select Remote PC in the Type drop-down list.
4. In the Address field, specify FQDN or IP address of a server that will manage Remote PC pools. This must be a server with RAS VDI Agent installed. You can use the RAS Publishing Agent server, since it has the RAS VDI Agent built in, but it can be any other server running a dedicated RAS VDI Agent.
5. Enter the account name in the UPN format (e.g. administrator@domain.local). This must be a domain user account with administrative rights on the server specified in the step 4 above. Using a local Windows account is also possible with some limitations and only when using the static PC assignment (see Configuring a VDI provider). Using a domain account is recommended.
6. Enter the account password and an optional description.
7. Click Next and then click Finish.

The wizard closes and the server Properties dialog opens where you need to configure the new VDI provider. You can configure it now or you can configure it later by right-clicking the host on the Providers tab and choosing Properties. The configuration steps are described in detail in the section that follows this one.