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A Brief Lesson About Azure RemoteApp

The Azure RemoteApp lets you host Windows Applications in Azure and serve them by using Remote Desktop Services for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices.

With Azure RemoteApp, you can share apps and the resources with users on almost any device.

Azure hosts apps in the Cloud, which means it takes care of the hardware and scaling to meet the demands. All we have to do is, upload the apps we want to share and then get the users to use those apps.

Azure RemoteApp benefits

  • Cost-effective

    The cloud takes care of the hardware and scaling for the user so that he can easily meet the dynamic needs of his or her business. There is no need to invest money and time in maintaining and upgrading on premise servers.

  • Bring Your Own Device

    Azure RemoteApp enables users to access corporate applications and be productive using the devices they love, without the risk of combining personal and corporate data.

  • Scale for your changing needs

    With Azure RemoteApp, you can quickly ramp up and provide app access to users without paying for new servers and an expensive infrastructure. You can scale down again when business needs change.

  • Centralize your apps, help secure your data

    Centralize and secure your data on the trusted and protected Azure platform. Apps and data stay in the Cloud, which helps to reduce the risk of information loss from lost and stolen devices.

(Reference: Azure RemoteApp)

Remote Apps Deployment Choices

Azure Remote Apps support two types of deployment.

  1. Cloud Only
  2. Hybrid

We will use the cloud only for deployment type.

Steps for running windows application on any device

  1. Create a cloud service and setup Azure storage account and upload sample DB .bacpac to storage for restore operation.
  2. Setup SQL Azure DB in Azure subscription
  3. Create custom image for Azure Remote Apps.
  4. Upload template image in Azure remote Apps
  5. Create Remote App Cloud collection.
  6. Consume the application from Remote Apps on client device.

Note:

Steps 1 and 2 are not necessary for Azure Remote Apps. These steps are required, if your Windows Application uses the database.

Steps 3 to 6 are generalized steps and we will be concentrating on these steps, as our Windows Application is not using any database thereby assuming that .exe file of Windows Application is available.

Create custom image for Azure Remote Apps

Step 1: Login to Windows Azure portal.

Step 2: Select Virtual machine (Classic) and click on Add button.

The screen shown below will appear. Select “Windows Server Remote Desktop Session Host on Windows Service 2012” image from the list. Click Create button.



Step 3: Provide the basic information and click Next button as shown below:



Step 4: Select the VM size.



Step 5: Set the configuration options.



Step 6: Details of the VM will be shown on Summery page. Click OK button.



Step 7: Once VM is created, connect to the VM.

Step 8: Copy release the folder of your Windows Application to VM(C:\RemoteApp\). Double click .exe file and run your Application to see if everything is working or not.

Step 9: As our VM is based on Remote Desktop Session Host image, we will have a PowerShell script. “ValidateRemoteAppImage”shortcut is present on the desktop. Run it and it will start the process of validating the VM against remote app requirements.



Step 10: When prompted to launch Sysprep, provide “Y”. Sysprep is a utility used for the generalization of VMs. Once process is completed, you can capture the image of your VM.

Step 11: Go to Azure portal, click Capture.

Step 12: Provide inputs and check on I’ve run Sysprep check box and click OK button.



Now the image is ready to use.

Upload VM image to Azure Remote Apps

Step 1: Go to Azure portal click Browse, select RemoteApp collections.

Step 2: Go to Template Imagestab. Click on “Import or Upload a template image”.

Step 3: Select “Import an image from your Virtual Machine library (recommended)”.



Step 4: VM Image, which we created, is listed in drop down list. Check the check box and click Next button.



Step 5: Provide template name, location and click OKbutton.



Create Remote App Cloud collection

Step 1: Select RemoteApp Collection tab.

Step 2: Click on Create RemoteApp Collection.

Step 3: You will note that RemoteApp template, which we created, is listed in Template image drop box. Provide the required inputs and click “Create Remote App Collection”.



Step 4: Once the collection status becomes active, click it and go to “Publishing” tab. Click the “Publish” button at the bottom and select “Publish Program using Path”.



Step 5: Provide the name of a program and path where we had copied .exe file and click OK button.



Step 6: Click “User Access” tab and verify that your Microsoft account has an access. You can also give the access to another Microsoft account.

Consume the Application from Remote Apps on client device

Step 1: Open “https://www.remoteapp.windowsazure.com/”, go to Downloads tab and download remote desktop client exe.



Step 2: Run the exe to install, once installation is complete, it will ask to login,use your Account, which has an access to remote app collection.

Step 3: Your App will be listed as shown below. Double click on the app and a RDP session will be activated automatically and you will be able to access Windows Application.


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