This topic describes how to create cloud computers in the Elastic Desktop Service (EDS) Enterprise console.
Preparations
You may optionally complete the following preparations to speed up the cloud computer creation process.
Create a cloud computer template. A cloud computer template specifies all the required resources, allowing you to efficiently create cloud computers. For more information, see Create and manage custom templates. If you do not want to create a cloud computer template, you can use a system template instead.
Create end user accounts to which cloud computers are assigned. After cloud computer assignment is completed, end users can use these accounts to log on to Alibaba Cloud Workspace terminals. You can also create cloud computers before you create end user accounts.
The convenience account system is dedicated to Elastic Desktop Service (Enterprise Edition) and is suitable for non-Active Directory (AD) scenarios. Users that are created based on the convenience account system are convenience users. Administrators can create and manage convenience users in the Elastic Desktop Service (Enterprise Edition) console.
The enterprise AD account system is suitable for AD scenarios. That is, Elastic Desktop Service (Enterprise Edition) uses AD connectors to connect to enterprise AD systems and AD domain controllers to manage user permissions and resources in a centralized manner. Users that are created based on the enterprise AD account systems are AD users.
Create an office network to accommodate cloud computers and configure relevant settings. If you do not want to create an office network, the system provides a default office network.
Create a cloud computer policy. A cloud computer policy defines rules governing cloud capabilities and security, influencing user experience and behavior. An administrator can control and manage cloud computers by creating a custom policy and applying it to the cloud computers. The administrator only needs to update the policy when the control and management requirements change.For more information, seePolicy configurations. If you do not want to create a custom policy, you can use the default policy provided by EDS Enterprise.
Purchase cloud computers on the Quick Purchase tab
The following section describes how to purchase cloud computers on the Quick Purchase tab, which streamlines the creation process. This method is suitable for general customers with no special requirements.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resources > Cloud Computers.
On the Cloud Computers page of the EDS Enterprise console, click Create Cloud Computer.
Click the Quick Purchase tab and configure parameters based on your business requirements. The following table describes the parameters.
Parameter
Description
Region
The region in which you want to purchase cloud computers. To optimize performance, choose a region close to your business to reduce latency.
Note
After you purchase cloud computers, you cannot change their region. Consider your decision carefully.
OS
The operating system of cloud computers. You can select Windows Server and Ubuntu operating systems.
Note
Microsoft has ended support for Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019, meaning no technical support, bug fixes, or security updates are available. EDS Enterprise still supports creating cloud computers with these OS versions and offers compatibility assistance. However, using unsupported or soon-to-be unsupported OS versions carries risks and requires caution. For more information, visit Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019.
Type
The computing resources of cloud computers. The lower part of this parameter provides on-screen information about the intended users, applicable scenarios, and inapplicable scenarios to assist you in selecting the most suitable type.
Note
If the available specifications do not meet your business requirements, you can switch to the Custom Purchase tab to proceed.
Billing Method
The billing method of cloud computers.
Monthly Subscription
Pay-as-you-go
Computing Plan
If you set the Billing Method parameter to Monthly Subscription, you must select one of the following computing plans:
Monthly subscription plans with limited hours
120 Hours/Month
250 Hours/Month
360 Hours/Month
Note
This feature is in invitational preview. If you want to use the feature, submit a ticket.
Monthly subscription plans with unlimited hours
Note
If you select the 120 Hours/Month or 250 Hours/Month plan, take note of the following items:
These plans do not support cloud computers of the Graphics Workstation type.
The hours of a plan represent the amount of time a cloud computer is in service each month. Any unused running hours at the end of the month do not roll over to the next month.
If the monthly running hours of a cloud computer are used up before the end of the month, the cloud computer continues to run and generates extra fees. If you want the cloud computer to stop running upon hour exhaustion, select When the monthly running hours of a cloud computer are exhausted in advance, the system automatically stops or hibernates the cloud computer....
If you use a cloud computer beyond the allotted time, you will be charged based on the hourly price of your chosen plan. The price listed on the purchase page will be the final amount charged. Cloud computers have a fee cap. If the fees generated within a month reach the amount of the Unlimited plan, no more fees are generated. Essentially, the price of the Unlimited plan is the maximum monthly fee for any other type of plans. Make sure that your account balance is sufficient.
After cloud computers are purchased, they automatically start. If end users do not connect to them within 10 minutes, the cloud computers stop or hibernate to avoid consuming running hours. You can adjust the scheduled tasks or policies of cloud computers. For more information, see Configure scheduled tasks and Configure a scheduled policy for a cloud computer.
Storage Capacity
The capacities of the system disks and data disks used by cloud computers.
Duration
The subscription duration. If you set the Billing Method parameter to Monthly Subscription, you must specify a subscription duration.
Public Bandwidth
Cloud computers cannot access the Internet over the networks of local devices. By default, each cloud computer has basic bandwidth, which is free of charge. End users can access the Internet from cloud computers.
Important
The peak bandwidth only indicates the upper bandwidth limit and is for reference only. The peak bandwidth may vary based on usage scenarios. In scenarios in which demand exceeds resource supplies, the bandwidth may be lower than the specified value.
(Optional) Assign User
You can assign cloud computers to users either during or after their creation.
You can assign cloud computers to new or existing users by following the on-screen instructions.
Note
On the Quick Purchase tab, you can only assign a cloud computer to one user. To assign a cloud computer to additional users, you can do so after completing the purchase process or by switching to the Custom Purchase tab.
Service Agreement
The service agreement. You need to select Read and agree to Product Terms of Service.
Quantity
The number of cloud computers you want to purchase.
Confirm the configurations and fees, and click Buy Now.
(Conditional) Promptly make the payment if your cloud computers are billed on a monthly basis.
Purchase cloud computers on the Custom Purchase tab
The Custom Purchase tab allows you to personalize cloud computers to fit your specific business requirements. This tab offers more flexibility than the Quick Purchase tab. When creating cloud computers, you can personalize settings such as the cloud environment, template types, networks, security policies, and tags.
After you create an office network, click the icon on the right side of the Office Network drop-down list to update the office network list.
Configure Cloud Computer
Configure the Determine Cloud Computer Quantity By parameter to specify the number of cloud computers that you want to purchase.
Note
Cloud computer templates fall into popular templates (system templates) and custom templates. If existing templates cannot meet your business requirements, click Create a cloud computer template to create a template. After you create a template, refresh the page to update the custom template list.
You can select only one template in a region each time, and use the template to create up to 100 cloud computers. If you need to purchase more than 300 cloud computers, submit separate orders for each additional batch.
Custom Value
If you set the Determine Cloud Computer Quantity By parameter to Custom Value, find the desired cloud computer template and specify a value in the Quantity column in the Popular Templates or Custom Templates section.
Then, you must create users and assign the cloud computers to them after the cloud computers are created.
Number of Authorized Users
If you set the Determine Cloud Computer Quantity By parameter to Number of Authorized Users, find the desired template and select the users for which you want to create cloud computers. Then, specify the number of cloud computers that you want to purchase for each user in the Per-user Quantity column.
The operations vary based on the account type of your office network. You can perform related operations based on your business requirements.
Office network of the convenience account type
In the Popular Templates or Custom Templates section, find the desired template and click Select User in the Authorized User column to add users. Then, specify the number of cloud computers that you want to purchase for each user in the Per-user Quantity column.
Note
If you cannot find the desired user, click Create User in the Authorized User column to create new users. For more information, seeCreate a convenience account.
Office network of the enterprise AD account type
You can select AD accounts created on a domain controller or import accounts from a .csv file.
Select users
In the Authorize User panel, select the Select tab.
Select AD accounts and click OK.
If no AD account is listed on the Select tab, log on to the AD domain controller and create AD accounts.
Import users
In the Select Users panel, select the Upload tab.
Use one of the following methods to create a .csv file that contains user information.
Note
When you create a .csv file, enter user logon names in the SamAccountName column and display names in the DisplayName column of the .csv file. They are required columns.
Click Download to retrieve the template. Open the file, input the user information in the specified format, and then save the file.
Open a blank spreadsheet, enter the user information, and then save the file as a .csv.
Click Select File, select the file that contains the information about AD accounts, and then follow the on-screen instructions to import the users.
Note
The system checks whether the AD accounts in the uploaded .csv file match the AD accounts created on the AD domain controller. You can click View Match Details to view the result.
You can assign cloud computers only to users in the Matched User list.
You can update the user information displayed in the Mismatched User list and click Resubmit.
Select a billing method.
Cloud computers support Monthly Subscription and Pay-as-you-go billing methods. For more information about the differences between the billing methods, see Monthly subscription.
(Conditional) Determine whether to enable auto-renewal for cloud computers.
If you select Monthly Subscription and the subscription duration is one month or more, you can enable auto-renewal to ensure uninterrupted service.
The auto-renewal duration is consistent with the subscription duration. For example, if you have a two-month subscription to a cloud computer and you turn on the Auto-renewal switch, the system will automatically renew the subscription for another two months after the initial two months are over.
If you enable the auto-renewal feature, you can change the auto-renewal cycle on the Renewal page.
Configure Network
Cloud computers cannot access the Internet over the networks of local devices. By default, each cloud computer has basic bandwidth, which is free of charge. End users can access the Internet from cloud computers.
Important
The peak bandwidth only indicates the upper bandwidth limit and is for reference only. The peak bandwidth may vary based on usage scenarios. In scenarios in which demand exceeds resource supplies, the bandwidth may be lower than the specified value.
Billing of premium bandwidth plans
You are charged for using premium bandwidth plans. For more information, see Billable items. The billing method of a premium bandwidth plan is consistent with that of your purchased cloud computers. The following billing methods of premium bandwidth plans are provided:
If the billing method of the purchased cloud computers is Monthly Subscription, the billing method of the attached premium bandwidth plan is Pay-by-bandwidth (Subscription).
If the billing method of the purchased cloud computers is Pay-as-you-go, the billing method of the attached premium bandwidth plan is Pay-by-data-transfer (Pay-as-you-go) or Pay-by-bandwidth (Pay-as-you-go).
If you want to cancel the billing method consistency between cloud computers and premium bandwidth plans, clear Same Billing Method next to the Billing Method parameter.
Automatic renewal of premium bandwidth plans
If you set the Billing Method parameter to Pay-by-bandwidth (Subscription) for a premium bandwidth plan, you can enable auto-renewal for the plan to prevent Internet access failures after the plan expires.
If you enable auto-renewal for a premium bandwidth plan, we recommend that you enable the auto-renewal feature for related cloud computers at the earliest opportunity to prevent resource waste.
After you purchase a premium bandwidth plan, all cloud computers created in the EDS Enterprise console can access the Internet. If you want to manage the Internet access of cloud computers in a fine-grained manner, configure network settings in the Internet Access Control section on the office network details page. For more information, see FAQ.
Internet access permissions of cloud computers
By default, the cloud computers that you create are allowed to access the Internet. If you do not want the cloud computers in the current order to access the Internet, clear Cloud computers in this order can access the Internet below the Internet Access Control parameter.
Advanced Options
Select a security policy.
In the Security Policy section, you can select an existing policy from Policy Templates or click Create Policy in the lower part of the section to create a policy. After the policy is created, click Refresh to update the policy list. For more information, seePolicy overview.
Select a resource group for cloud computers.
A resource group is a collection of cloud computing resources, which serves as a management unit used to manage cloud computers in batches and isolate data permissions for sub-administrators. You can select an existing resource group from the Resource Group drop-down list, or click Create Resource Group in the lower part of the section to create a resource group. After you create a resource group, click the icon on the right side of the Resource Group drop-down list to load the newly created resource group. For more information, seeCreate a resource group.
Configure a scheduled task.
To configure a scheduled task for cloud computers in this order, click Configure Scheduled Task for Cloud Computer in This Order. In the Configure Scheduled Task panel, specify the tasks to be executed on the cloud computers at scheduled time points. You can also configure scheduled tasks after you create cloud computers. For more information, see Configure scheduled tasks.
Select an automatic snapshot policy.
You can select an existing snapshot policy from the Snapshot Policy drop-down list, or click Create Automatic Snapshot Policy in the lower part of the section to create a snapshot policy. After you create a snapshot policy, click the icon to refresh the snapshot policy list. For more information, see Create an automatic snapshot policy and associate it with cloud computers.
Add tags to cloud computers.
A tag is a key-value pair used to identify resources. You can use tags to group cloud computers and facilitate management operations. Tags help you search for and perform batch operations on cloud computers with ease. For more information, see Use tags to manage cloud computers.
Confirm the configurations and fees for the cloud computers that you want to create and click Confirm Order.
In the Shopping Cart section on the right side of the page, you can view the information about the cloud computers that you want to create in an order. You can also specify custom names for cloud computers based on your business requirements.
Confirm the configurations of the cloud computers, read and agree to Service Agreement, and then click Create Order.
(Conditional) Promptly make the payment if your cloud computers are billed on a monthly basis.
What to do next
Modify multiple cloud computer names at the same time: On the Cloud Computers page, select the cloud computers whose names you want to modify and choose More > Modify Cloud Computer Name. Then, in the dialog box that appears, enter a name prefix, number of digits, and start value, and click OK.
Associate a premium bandwidth plan with an office network: If you do not enable premium bandwidth when you create cloud computers, you can associate a premium bandwidth plan with the office network in which the cloud computers reside later. For more information, see Manage Internet access.
Back up and restore data: You can create snapshots for cloud computers to back up data and use the snapshots to restore cloud computers. For more information, see Use snapshots (public preview).
Perform remote O&M: If you want to perform O&M on cloud computers without the need to connect to the cloud computers, you can send remote commands. For more information, see Send remote commands.
Configure scheduled tasks: You can create scheduled tasks for cloud computers to perform regular tasks at specific time points. For more information, seeConfigure scheduled tasks.