Skip to content
Be excellent.
  • My Account
  • My Wishlist
Menu
  • My Account
  • My Wishlist
$0.00 Cart
  • Customer Solutions
    • Application & Data Experience
    • End User Experience
    • Security & Risk Mitigation
  • Who We Are
    • Our Commitment to You
    • What Our Clients Say
    • Our Partners
  • Knowledge Base
  • Get in Touch
Menu
  • Customer Solutions
    • Application & Data Experience
    • End User Experience
    • Security & Risk Mitigation
  • Who We Are
    • Our Commitment to You
    • What Our Clients Say
    • Our Partners
  • Knowledge Base
  • Get in Touch
Value Center
Optimizing application delivery to your end users.
Office of the CIO
Office of the CIO

EUC Delivery: Master Image Optimization

  • May 14, 2020
  • Adam Cook: EUC Architect
  • One Comment
  • Application & Data Experience, End User Experience, Identity & Access Management, Strategy, VMware

With the likes of Google and Twitter announcing long-term plans for a distributed workforce, the models used to serve our end users increasingly take on a higher priority. As this transition further develops, we move from planning, or early implementation, to optimization within our technology delivery platforms.

Earlier, we explored your options for delivering services to remote users. Today, we’ll focus on delivering a virtual desktop strategy. Within the virtual desktop architecture, properly designing your master image is a critical step in the process of setting up your initial design. Master image optimization can affect multiple aspects of the VDI environment. But, most importantly, it will be the lynch pin in getting users to accept VDI as a valid form of accessing company resources.

If the initial user experience is poor, you will have a hard time getting those users to adopt the technology. Most users are finicky and impatient, and you may have 1 or 2 tries to prove that VDI is right for them.  

Here are 3 things to look at before deploying your master image to a pool.  

Master Image Optimization Tool  

When it comes to master image optimization, VMware has built an option that will do most of the heavy lifting for you. The VMware OS Optimization Tool can run on Windows 7, 8 and 10. You can use it to for your RDSH session host machines as well.

This tool is straight forward to use. You run it on your master image. It analyzes the what can be turned off to make the image faster. Then, you decide what to turn off and on.

It’s important to understand the outcome provided by the tool. With all the recommendations provided by the analysis, you will have a wonderfully performing desktop. But, a plain looking Windows desktop without functionality may not be the answer your end user is looking for.

While this may be ok for an RDSH host for a VDI desktop, you might want to leave some of the bells and whistles enabled. You need to determine if turning off a feature that degrades the user experience is worth the resource savings on the backend. You can save all the resources and have a primed image, but if the users loathe their work environment it will be difficult to increase user adoption.  Some simple questions to ask yourself when walking through the analysis include:

  • Is the functionality critical to the user experience?
  • What is the impact of the functionality to resource consumption?
  • What alternatives are available to provide a similar outcome?

Modern Microsoft Applications  

Modern Microsoft applications get installed for a user each time a new user profile is created. On a floating desktop the user profile could be created every time the user logs in. And, therefore, the modern applications are installed each time as well. This ultimately adds time to the login process. 

There are a couple options when addressing modern applications.

  • You can find scripts that will disable the Windows Store applications. 
  • You can also use the OS Optimization tool.

Each method allows you to remove all or just selected applications. It’s important to remember that commonly used applications like Calculator are now modern applications. Thus, you will need to find a replacement for applications like Calculator and Paint if you want to make you master image modern app free.  

Applications: in the image or different delivery method?

In an ideal world your Master image would not have any applications installed. From there, you would be able to add the exact applications that a specific user needs when they log in. If you live in this ideal world please send for me, I would love to join you.

In the real world, many companies do not have the time or the resources to package every application to be delivered into a system like App Volumes or Microsoft App-V. Not only do these systems add the overhead of packaging and management, but they also add time to the log in process. 

There is a place for App Volumes. But, if an application is commonly used across your user base, you might want to bake that into the master image. Things like Office or additional browsers are complex to package and it may save you time to install them in the master.  

Next Steps

As you can see, master image optimization often leads to more application packaging strategies conversations. We have found that delivering virtual desktops takes intentionality and with that, experience helps. If we can mitigate your risk, fine tune existing deployments, or drive a better end user experience for you, sign us up!

Hit us up in the chat! Give us a call! Connect with us on LinkedIn! Let’s do this together…

Share This Post
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on email
Email

1 thought on “EUC Delivery: Master Image Optimization”

  1. Pingback: Privileged Access Workstations - Securing Administrative Tasks

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

PrevPreviousExploring a NAC Maturity Model
NextPrivileged Access Workstations: Securing Administrative TasksNext
Linkedin
Twitter
Envelope
Get a Customized Solution

616.202.6518

  • My Account
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Apply For Credit
  • Contact Us
Menu
  • My Account
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Apply For Credit
  • Contact Us

Sign Up For The Latest

Sign up for our blog and product updates and receive an instant online coupon code.

© 2021 Elevate Technology Partners LLC. Designed & Developed by Kynda.
Apply For Credit
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.