Unidesk Prerequisites (vSphere)

In this article:

Operating System requirement

• OS for Layered Images

  You need a Unidesk-supported operating system to import into an OS Layer. This OS will be used to build your Layered Images.

Storage requirements

• 350-500 GB Storage Space

  The Unidesk ELM uses local storage for temporary files and finalized layers. The more layers you create, the more space you need. However, if you run low on space, you can expand the size of the current disk, or add other disks to the ELM when needed.

• 40-100 GB network file share (SMB/NFS)

  The file share connected to the ELM is used for upgrades, Elastic Layers, and cross-platform publishing. This space is easy to expand, if needed.

vSphere prerequisites

If you are installing the Unidesk ELM in vSphere and building your layers on vSphere VMs or publishing Layered Images to vSphere, you need:

• Network access to Unidesk Tools download

  You need access from the Packaging Machine VM in vSphere to the Unidesk Tools download (available on the Unidesk Download page).

• vCenter account and privileges

  • An existing or new vCenter account to use for Unidesk.
  • The account must have vCenter privileges to: Create and remove VMDKs, and to copy and delete layers on VMDKs using vSphere file APIs (see detailed list of vCenter permissions below).

• Dedicated vCenter role for Unidesk (optional)

  To set up a new role:

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Administration > Roles.
  2. Click Add Role.
  3. Enter a name. Example: UDAdmin.
  4. Set the privileges for this account.

• Privileges set for the vCenter role you are using for Unidesk

  Add the required vCenter permissions (detailed permissions list below).

  1. Open the Assign Permissions window.
  2. In the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Inventory > Hosts and Clusters.
  3. Select your vCenter, right-click, and select Add permission.
  4. In the Assign Permissions window, under Assigned Role, expand All Privileges.
  5. Select the permissions listed below, make sure that the Propogate to Child Objects check box is selected, and click OK. displayed.

• The Unidesk role associated with the administrator account

  Associate the Unidesk role with the administrator account:

  1. Add the administrator account and assign the Unidesk role to it.

  2. Allow the permissions to propagate to the entire Datacenter.

     Note: If you want to restrict this use from accessing specific folders in the Datacenter, grant the user more restrictive permissions for those folders.

• vCenter permissions

  Unidesk needs vCenter-level privileges to request information about the execution status of tasks. Without those privileges, Unidesk would consider the tasks failed.

  Expand All Privileges, and each of the following...	Then select...
  Datastore	Allocate space Browse datastore Low level file operations
  Folder	Create folder Delete folder
  Global	Cancel task
  Host > Configuration	System Management
  Network	Assign network
  Resource	Assign virtual machine to resource pool
  vApp	Export Import vApp application configuration
  Virtual machine > Configuration	Add existing disk Add new disk Add or remove device Advanced Change CPU count Change resource Configure managedBy Disk change tracking Memory Modify device settings Remove disk Rename Reset guest information Set annotation Settings Swapfile placement Upgrade virtual hardware
  Virtual machine > Interaction	Answer question Configure CD media Console interaction Device connection Power off Power on Reset Suspend
  Virtual machine > Inventory	Create from existing Create new Register Remove Unregister
  Virtual machine > Provisioning	Clone template (optional, but required to use a vSphere template as the source VM) Clone virtual machine Customize Deploy template Mark as template
  Virtual machine > Snapshot management	Create snapshot Remove Snapshot