Launch Google Chrome browser from the desktop.

1. In the address bar type http://appvol-02.corp.local press Enter.

1. Click Get Started to continue.

1. On the Licence Information screen click Edit.

1. Click Choose File to select the App Volumes license file.

1. Browse to Local Disk (C:) ->Tools->
2. Click on AppVolumes-LicenseKey.key file.
3. Click Open.

1. Verify App Volumes key file was selected.
2. Click Upload to upload the App Volumes key file.

1. Verify license key was applied
2. Click Next.

1. In the Active Directory Domain Name box type: corp.local
2. In the Username box type: administrator
3. In the Password box type: VMware1!
4. In the Security Drop Down Choose LDAP( insecure) - Lab and test environments only. This minimizes extra time and tasks of running with increased security and best practices like you would in a production deployment.
5. Click Register to continue.

NOTE: For lab and POC environments installation is performed in a less secure mode. This is done to avoid any delays and costs associated with obtaining and installing signed certificates. In a production environment some best practices would call for multiple App Volumes Manager Servers behind a load balancers, valid certificates and higher security for authentication. One of the most frequently asked questions is how to install a signed certificate in App Volumes. This link will walk you through the process of installing a certificate on an App Volumes Manager Server.

Read the Important information section regarding the credentials used. It is very important that the service accounts used do not require periodic password changes or App Volumes will fail to work properly.

1. Validate the correct domain is shown corp.local
2. Click Next to continue.

1. In the Search Groups box type domain admins
2. Click Search.
3. Verify the correct Active Directory group has populated CORP\Domain Admins
4. Click Assign.

This tab allows you to assign Active Directory groups to App Volumes roles within App Volumes manager. We are using domain admins, but you would probably be using purpose built groups to assign users to roles within App Volumes.

1. Verify CORP\Domain Admins is assigned the Administrators role
2. Click Next to continue.

1. In the Hostname box type: vcsa-01a.corp.local
2. In the Username box type: corp\administrator
3. In the Password box type: VMware1!
4. Click Save.

NOTE: With previous versions of App Volumes, configuring the Mount ESXi option or, mount on host was recommended to reduce the load on vCenter Server and improve App Volumes performance. App Volumes 2.14 and later provides new optimizations in the communication with vCenter Server. Most implementations will no longer benefit from enabling the Mount ESXi option.

You can enable the Mount Local storage option in App Volumes to check local storage first and then check central storage. AppStacks are mounted faster if stored locally to the ESXi (vSphere) host. Place VMDKs on local storage and, as a safeguard, place duplicates of these VMDKs on central storage in case the vSphere host fails. Then the VMs can reboot on other hosts that have access to the centrally stored VMDKs.

If you choose to enable Mount ESXi or Mount Local, all vSphere hosts must have the same user credentials. Root-level access is not required. See Create a Custom vCenter Role for more information.

1. Click Accept on the Certificate Popup to establish a trust.

1. Verify the vCenter server vcsa-01a.corp.local was added with corp\administrator.
2. Click Next.

1. In the Default Storage Location for AppStacks Drop Down Box Choose [RegionA01]ESX01a-Local
2. In the Default Storage Location for Writable Volumes Drop Down Box Choose [RegionA01]ESX01a-Local
3. Click Next.

1. Click Set Defaults to continue.

1. Check the box apps_templates/template_workstation.vmdk
2. Click Upload.

This is where you upload the blank VMDK templates to use for creating AppStacks and assigning Writable Volumes to end users. In this lab we will only upload a single AppStack Template to the host for demonstration purposes. The default template VMDK appstack size is 20 GB. You can increase or decrease these templates to suit your organization's needs. This KB can be used to increase or decrease the VMDK template size. There are templates for Writable Volumes, User Installed Applications Writables or User installed plus profile that can be uploaded and used. For in-depth information on the templates please see this document. For additional in-depth advanced topics on App Volumes please try Hands on Labs 2051-02.

1. Click Upload on the conformation popup.

1. Leave all defaults and click Save.

1. Clicking on the Home button which can be found at the top of all menus in App Volumes. This home button will take you to the App Volumes Dashboard.

The App Volumes Home Dashboard provides at a glance information of consumption and utilization of the environment. It can be useful when troubleshooting problems and provide a good overall picture of the App Volumes environment health.