Update: Make sure to enter some text into the spreadsheet to make the fields populate.
This is a spreadsheet that automates almost all aspects of a VMware View deployment using Powershell and Concatenate. I built it mainly out of a desire to avoid using the Flash GUI that comes with View. It is slow and it makes me want to scream when I’m halfway through a 20-click wizard and I realize I need to look something up.
Be sure to keep this after using it- it doubles as your documentation. It is also everything you need to rebuild in a DR situation after restoring your templates and View servers.
It assumes you have deployed the View Infrastructure, have built some templates and taken snap shots. Look at each workbook left to right. Fill out the variables for you environment in the yellow fields, and use the grey fields to make scripts. A further refinement would making a mail merge to spit all this into batch files for you. Copying and pasting into PowerGUI suffices for me.
Consistency
For each pool name entered, this will nest a Global AD Group into a Domain Local Group, add a space separated list of users to the Global Group, create an OU under a defined VDI OU, create a Resource Pool in vCenter, compose a Pool and then entitle the Global Group to the Pool. This is set to create Floating Linked-Clone Automated Pools. If you wish to change this, feel free to edit this:
=IF(ISBLANK(‘Pool Sizing’!B9),””,CONCATENATE(“get-composerdomain | Add-AutomaticLinkedClonePool -pool_id “””, ‘Pool Sizing’!B9,””” –displayName “””,’Pool Sizing’!C9, “”” -namePrefix “””,’Pool Sizing’!G9,””” -resourcePoolPath “”/”,Datacenter,”/host/”,Cluster,”/Resources/”,’View Object Names’!C9,””” -parentVMPath “”/”,Datacenter,”/vm/”,BaseImages,”/”,’View Object Names’!D9,””” -parentSnapshotPath “”/”,’Pool Sizing’!F9,””” -datastorespecs “”[Moderate,replica]/”,Datacenter,”/host/”,Cluster,”/”,B9,”;[Moderate,OS,data]/”,Datacenter,”/host/”,Cluster,”/”,C9,””” -persistence “”Nonpersistent”””,” -organizationalUnit “”ou=”,’View Object Names’!E9,”,”,DesktopBaseOu,””” -minimumcount “””,’Pool Sizing’!H9,””” -maximumcount “””,’Pool Sizing’!I9,””” -headroomCount “””,’Pool Sizing’!J9,””” -refreshpolicytype “”Never”””,” -deletepolicy “”RefreshOnUse”””,” -powerpolicy “”AlwaysOn”””,” -vmFolderPath “”/”,Datacenter,”/vm”””))
Just make the GPOs for each Pool and you are set. Don’t create more than a Pool or two at a time, this will crater your environment if run too much at once.
Download the spreadsheet: vHipsterViewDeploymentTemplate
N.B. You have to start entering values to make code appear.
Be sure to consult the documentation if you need to modify anything.
