Create and manage computer pool cloud computers

Background

A computer pool automatically creates, assigns, and releases cloud computers based on the billing method and scaling policy that you configure. To learn how a computer pool works, see Overview of computer pools (formerly desktop groups).

Create a computer pool

1. Log on to the EDS enterprise console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Shared Cloud Computer.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the Computer Pools page, click the Many-to-Many tab, click Create Shared Cloud Computer, and configure the parameters.

   Parameter	Description
   Billing Method	The default billing method for the computer pool. Subscription: You pay for resources before you use them and receive discounted pricing. Pay-as-you-go: You pay for resources after you use them. You are billed based on the specifications and the duration of use, and you can release resources at any time. For more information, see Billing overview.
   Name	The name of the computer pool. Follow the naming conventions shown on the page.
   Select Region	The region where the cloud computers are deployed.
   Office Network	The office network to which the cloud computers belong. Convenience office networks and AD office networks are supported. For more information about office network types, see Office network types.
   Select Users	After you add users to a computer pool, the cloud computers in the share are assigned to these users. Unlike standard cloud computers, cloud computers in a computer pool are not permanently bound to users. The system dynamically allocates cloud computers based on user connection status. When a user disconnects, the system automatically resets the cloud computer based on the configured reset type. The cloud computer is then available for another user. To add users after the share is created, select Close. To add users during creation, select Open. For a convenience office network, click Authorize User to select existing convenience accounts. You can also click Create User to create new users before adding them. For more information about how to create a convenience account, see Create a convenience account. For an AD office network, click Authorize User to select AD accounts from your AD domain controller. Alternatively, go to the By Uploading tab to bulk upload user account information from a CSV file. Note You can import a maximum of 500 AD accounts at a time from a CSV file. Bulk upload AD account information from a CSV file In the Select Users panel, click the By Uploading tab. Prepare a CSV file in one of the following ways: Click Download CSV Template, open the downloaded template, enter the AD account information in the required format, and then save the file. Use spreadsheet software to enter the AD account information in the required format and save the file as a CSV file. Click Select File, choose the CSV file that contains the AD account information, and click OK. The system automatically uploads the CSV file and verifies the AD account information against the accounts in your AD domain controller. You can click View Match Details to check the results. You can assign cloud computers only to users in the Matched User list. For users in the Mismatched User list, you can correct the information and click Resubmit.
   Data Roaming	Enable this feature to ensure that data in a user's C:\Users\<username> directory persists across sessions, providing a consistent user experience. For a detailed description and configuration steps, see Configure user data roaming (UPM).
   Security Policy	The policy for the computer pool. It controls usage restrictions and experience settings for the cloud computers. You can select an existing security policy or create a new one as prompted on the page. For more information, see Create and manage cloud computer policies.
   Templates	The cloud computer template used to create computer pool cloud computers. A cloud computer template defines the specifications and image of a cloud computer and is used to quickly create cloud computers. You can select an existing cloud computer template or create a new one based on the on-screen prompts. For more information, see Create and manage custom templates. Note Cloud computer templates that use custom Linux images are not supported. To enable user data roaming, make sure that the image version in the selected template is V1.9.0 or later.
   Tag	You can add tags to cloud computers to categorize and manage them.
   If you select Subscription as the billing method, you must configure the following parameters:
   Quantity	The initial number of cloud computers to create.
   Duration	Select a subscription duration for the computer pool. You can also enable auto-renewal based on your business needs.
   Allow Auto-creation	If you enable Allow Auto-creation, the system automatically creates and assigns a new pay-as-you-go cloud computer from the selected template when all cloud computers in the share are occupied and a new user attempts to connect. The new cloud computer is released 10 minutes after the user disconnects.
   Max. Auto-created Cloud Computers	If you enable Allow Auto-creation, you must set the maximum number of cloud computers that the system can automatically create. This helps control your overall costs.
   If you select Pay-as-you-go as the billing method, you must configure the following parameters:
   Min. Cloud Computers	The initial number of cloud computers created for the computer pool. These cloud computers are always reserved. When you release the computer pool, these initial cloud computers are released at the same time.
   Status of Min. Cloud Computers	By default, all cloud computers in a computer pool are in the Running state. In the Running state, you are charged for both computing and storage resources. To optimize costs, you can set the status to Stopped. In the Stopped state, you are charged only for storage resources, not for computing resources.
   Max. Cloud Computers	Set the maximum number of cloud computers for the computer pool based on your needs. The system automatically creates cloud computers based on user connection status but does not exceed this limit. The maximum value is 500.
   Reserved Idle Cloud Computers	The default value is 0. If you set a value greater than 0, the system pre-creates that number of cloud computers and keeps them in a running and idle state, ready for immediate connection. This reduces the waiting time for users. Note If you do not reserve available cloud computers, the system must first create and start a cloud computer before assigning it to a connecting user, which increases the waiting time. We recommend that you reserve a certain number of cloud computers to ensure a good user experience.

5. Review the parameter settings and costs, and then click Confirm Order.

6. Confirm the information again, select the Product Terms of Service checkbox next to Service Agreement, and then click Create Order.

   • If you selected the pay-as-you-go billing method, the creation process is now complete.

   • If you selected the subscription billing method, click Subscribe on the payment page and follow the prompts to complete the payment.

Manage users

If you did not add users while creating the computer pool, you can manage them after the share is created.

1. Log on to the EDS enterprise console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Shared Cloud Computer.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the Computer Pools page, click the Many-to-Many tab. Find the target computer pool, click the ⋮ icon in the Actions column, and select View/Add User.

5. In the View/Add User panel, perform one of the following operations as needed:

   • Add a user

     1. Click Add User.

     2. In the Add User dialog box, select the users you want to add and click OK.

        You can quickly filter users by criteria such as organizational unit, username, or email.

        Note

        This operation may take a few moments to take effect. The list of added users does not refresh immediately.

   • Remove a user

     1. In the Added Users list, select the users you want to remove and click Remove at the bottom of the list.

        You can quickly filter users by criteria such as organizational unit, username, or email.

     2. In the confirmation dialog box that appears, read the information carefully and click OK.

        Note

        This operation may take a few moments to take effect. The list of added users does not refresh immediately.

Configure session management policy

A session is a logical connection established between an end user and a cloud computer through an Alibaba Cloud Workspace terminal. A session starts when the connection is established and ends when the session is logged off. By setting thresholds such as maximum session duration, session keep-alive duration, and maximum idle session duration, session management helps you maximize cloud computer utilization.

1. Log on to the EDS enterprise console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Shared Cloud Computer.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the Computer Pools page, click the Many-to-Many tab, and then click the target computer pool's computer pool ID (formerly desktop group ID).

5. On the details page of the computer pool, click the Basic Information tab. Scroll down to the Session Management section, and then enable and configure the following parameters as needed:

   Parameter	Description
   Max. Session Duration	The maximum duration of a user session. The value must be an integer from 15 to 5,760 minutes (4 days). If a user is still connected five minutes before this duration is reached, a prompt appears, advising the user to save their data to prevent loss. When the duration is reached, the session automatically disconnects.
   Keep-active Duration	The amount of time a session is kept active after it disconnects. The value must be an integer from 3 to 5,760 minutes (4 days). When a session disconnects, either intentionally by the user or due to other factors, a timer starts. If the user fails to reconnect within this keep-active duration, the session is logged off, and any unsaved data is lost. If the user reconnects successfully within this duration, they can resume the original session and their data from before the disconnection. Important You can also select Always to keep the session active indefinitely after it disconnects. However, this setting can consume an available session slot and may prevent other users from connecting. Use this option with caution.
   Max. Duration of Idle Session	If no keyboard or mouse activity is detected within this duration after a session is established, the session disconnects. The value must be an integer from 6 to 60 minutes. The default value is 15 minutes. Thirty seconds before this duration is reached, a prompt appears, advising the user to save their data to prevent loss. Note This feature is available only for cloud computers that use image version 1.0.2 or later.

Configure reset and scheduled start/stop policies

You can configure reset options, reset triggers, reset scopes, and scheduled start/stop policies for cloud computers.

1. Log on to the EDS enterprise console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Shared Cloud Computer.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the Computer Pools page, click the Many-to-Many tab, and then click the target computer pool's computer pool ID.

5. On the details page of the computer pool, click the Basic Information tab. Scroll down to the Share reset and scheduled startup/shutdown settings. section and configure the following parameters as needed:

   Parameter	Description
   Reset Type	The scope of the reset, which can include the system disk and data disk of the cloud computer.
   Reset Time	The condition that triggers the reset. Reset After Disconnection: The cloud computer automatically resets when the session disconnects. Scheduled Reset: The cloud computer automatically resets at a time you specify. If you select this option, you must set the reset time in the Configure Scheduled Reset Time panel.
   Scheduled Start/Stop	The scheduled start and stop times for the cloud computers. If you enable this feature, you must specify the times in the Scheduled Start/Stop Time panel. Important When you configure a scheduled stop or restart policy, under Forcibly Stop/Restart Cloud Computer, select Yes or No. If you select Yes, the cloud computer is forcibly stopped or restarted, regardless of whether a user is active. Active users receive a warning five minutes in advance to save their work. If they do not save their work, unsaved data will be lost.

Manage cloud computer power

You can manage the power of cloud computers by starting, stopping, and restarting them, just as you would with a physical computer.

1. Log on to the EDS enterprise console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Shared Cloud Computer.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the Computer Pools page, click the Many-to-Many tab. Find the target computer pool and in the Actions column, click Power On, Stop, or Restart. In the confirmation dialog box that appears, click OK.

Change computer pool cloud computers' image

1. Log on to the EDS enterprise console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Shared Cloud Computer.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the Computer Pools page, click the Many-to-Many tab. Find the target computer pool, click the ⋮ icon in the Actions column, and select Change Image.

5. In the Change Image panel, change the computer pool's image as prompted. For more information, see Change the image of a cloud computer or a computer pool.

   Warning

   After you change the image, all software and personal data on the system disk will be permanently erased. Before you proceed, make sure that you have backed up the data from the system disk.

Configure user data roaming (UPM)

In a computer pool, cloud computers are not permanently bound to users, so a user may connect to a different cloud computer in each session. In addition, cloud computer data may be automatically reset based on the administrator's policy. As a result, users' personalized settings and data may not be saved by default.

When you enable user data roaming, User Profile Management (UPM) saves the data from the C:\Users\<username> directory of an authorized user to the C:\Users directory of the File Storage NAS volume, which is mounted to the office network of the computer pool. This allows the user's data in the C:\Users\<username> directory to follow them across sessions, ensuring a consistent user experience. This data is visible only to the user, ensuring data security.

Follow these steps to enable and configure user data roaming:

1. Perform one of the following operations based on your scenario:

   • To enable this feature for a new computer pool, select Open in the Data Roaming section on the page for creating a computer pool.

   • To enable this feature for an existing computer pool, go to the Many-to-Many tab of the Computer Pools page, click the computer pool ID of the target computer pool, and on the Basic Information tab, turn on the Data Roaming switch in the lower-right corner of the Basic Info section.

2. Select an existing NAS file system, or click Create NAS File System and follow the prompts to create a new one.

   Note

   • Creating a NAS file system for a computer pool to enable user data roaming requires Key Management Service (KMS). If you have not activated this service, follow the prompts to activate it in the Create NAS File System panel.

   • Before you use the user data roaming feature, you must initialize the NAS file system. This process takes some time, during which you cannot change the user data roaming settings. The feature becomes active only after initialization is complete.

   • For more information about File Storage NAS, see General-purpose NAS.

3. (Optional) By default, all data in the user directory is roamed. To exercise fine-grained control over the roaming scope, you can configure a UPM blacklist and whitelist policy.

   1. Perform one of the following operations based on your scenario:

      • If you are on the page for creating a computer pool, click UPM Blacklist and Whitelist.

      • If you are on the details page of a computer pool, wait for the NAS file system to be mounted, and then click View/Configure Blacklist and Whitelist.

   2. In the UPM Blacklist and Whitelist panel, click Add to Blacklist and add a level-1 blacklist in the dialog box.

      A level-1 blacklist contains folders or files that you want to exclude from the roaming scope.

   3. (Optional) In the Actions column of the target level-1 blacklist directory, click Add Level-2 Whitelist.

      A level-2 whitelist contains folders or files that you want to keep within the roaming scope. After the policy is configured, only the items in the level-2 whitelist (which is under a level-1 blacklist directory) are roamed. All other data is excluded.

Delete or release a computer pool

You can delete or release a computer pool that you no longer need. Before you proceed, make sure the following conditions are met:

• No users are connected to the cloud computers and all user authorizations for the computer pool have been revoked. For more information about how to revoke user authorization, see Manage authorized users.

• If the computer pool is subscription-based, you must first unsubscribe from all unexpired cloud computers in the share before you can delete the computer pool. For more information about unsubscribing from cloud computers, see Refunds.

Follow these steps to delete or release a share:

1. Log on to the EDS enterprise console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Shared Cloud Computer.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the Computer Pools page, click the Many-to-Many tab. Find the target computer pool and in the Actions column, click Delete or Release. In the confirmation dialog box that appears, click OK.

   Warning

   When you delete or release a computer pool, all data on the cloud computers is permanently deleted. Make sure to back up all important data before you proceed.