Setting Up Desktop and Application Pools in View

Table 11‑2. Maximum Length of the Naming Pattern in a Machine Name
If You Set This Number of Machines in the Pool This Is the Maximum Prefix Length
1-99 13 characters
100-999 12 characters
1,000 or more 11 characters
Names that contain fixed-length tokens have different length limits. See “Length of the Naming Pattern
When You Use a Fixed-Length Token,” on page 113.
Using a Token in a Machine Name
You can place the automatically generated number anywhere else in the name by using a token. When you
type the pool name, type n surrounded by curly brackets to designate the token.
For example: amber-{n}-desktop
When View creates a machine, View replaces {n} with a unique number.
You can generate a fixed-length token by typing {n:fixed=number of digits}.
View replaces the token with numbers containing the specified number of digits.
For example, if you type amber-{n:fixed=3}, View replaces {n:fixed=3} with a three-digit number and
creates these machine names: amber-001, amber-002, amber-003, and so on.
Length of the Naming Pattern When You Use a Fixed-Length Token
Names that contain fixed-length tokens have a 15-character limit, including your naming pattern and the
number of digits in the token.
Table 11‑3. Maximum Length of the Naming Pattern When You Use a Fixed-Length Token
Fixed-Length Token Maximum Length of the Naming Pattern
{n:fixed=1}
14 characters
{n:fixed=2}
13 characters
{n:fixed=3}
12 characters
Machine-Naming Example
This example shows how to create two automated desktop pools that use the same machine names, but
different sets of numbers. The strategies that are used in this example achieve a specific user objective and
show the flexibility of the machine-naming methods.
The objective is to create two pools with the same naming convention such as VDIABC-XX, where XX
represents a number. Each pool has a different set of sequential numbers. For example, the first pool might
contain machines VDIABC-01 through VDIABC-10. The second pool contains machines VDIABC-11
through VDIABC-20.
You can use either machine-naming method to satisfy this objective.
n
To create fixed sets of machines at one time, specify machine names manually.
n
To create machines dynamically when users log in for the first time, provide a naming pattern and use a
token to designate the sequential numbers.
Specifying the Names Manually
1 Prepare a text file for the first pool that contains a list of machine names from VDIABC-01 through
VDIABC-10.
Chapter 11 Provisioning Desktop Pools
VMware, Inc. 113