RDS 2012 - Virtual desktop collection with powershell and custom answerfile fails on VDI deployment

Question

Hi Guys,
I try to deploy a new virtual desktop collection with Win8 VDI's (pooled/managed) based on a custom answer file. Everything needs to automated so working with the server manager is not an option, that's why the answer file is needed.
The lab environment is based on Windows Server 2012 and Win8 Enterprise only. So functional level etc. is off course Windows Server 2012.
I Use the following command:
New-RDVirtualDesktopCollection `
-CollectionName "Pooled Managed Win8" `
-Description "This collection contains Pooled and Managed Win 8 VDI machines." `
-OU "VDI" `
-ConnectionBroker "RDSCB01.lab.local" `
-PooledManaged `
-CustomSysprepUnattendFilePath "\\hyper02\_Unattend\OOBE-only.xml" `
-VirtualDesktopAllocation @{"hyper02.lab.local"=3} `
-VirtualDesktopNamePrefix "Pooled-Win8-" `
-UserGroups "lab.local\domain users" `
-MaxUserProfileDiskSizeGB 1 `
-VirtualDesktopTemplateHostServer "hyper02.lab.local" `
-VirtualDesktopTemplateName “_WIN8-Template” `
-UserProfileDiskPath "\\hyper02.lab.local\_UserProfileDisks" `
-StorageType LocalStorage `
-LocalStoragePath "E:\_VDI" `
-Force `
-Debug
$error[0]|format-list -force
I tried multiple answer files, but even with this simple one it fails:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<InputLocale>en-US</InputLocale>
<SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
<UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
<UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
<UserLocale>nl-NL</UserLocale>
</component>
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UserAccounts>
<AdministratorPassword>
<Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkACEAQQBkAG0AaQBuAGkAcwB0AHIAYQB0AG8AcgBQAGEAcwBzAHcAbwByAGQA</Value>
<PlainText>false</PlainText>
</AdministratorPassword>
<LocalAccounts>
<LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
<Password>
<Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkACEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
<PlainText>false</PlainText>
</Password>
<Description>Admin</Description>
<DisplayName>Admin</DisplayName>
<Group>Administrators</Group>
<Name>Admin</Name>
</LocalAccount>
</LocalAccounts>
</UserAccounts>
<OOBE>
<HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
<HideLocalAccountScreen>true</HideLocalAccountScreen>
<HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
<HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
<HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
<NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
<ProtectYourPC>3</ProtectYourPC>
<SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
<SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
</OOBE>
</component>
</settings>
<cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="wim:d:/=%20software/iso&apos;s/lic/en_windows_8_enterprise_x64_dvd_917522/sources/install.wim#Windows 8 Enterprise" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>
Everything goes fine, until is comes to the deployment of the VDI machines and the answer file is called. It fails with the following error:
PS N:\> \\dc01\isos\New-VirtualDesktopCollection.ps1
Unable to retrieve the details of the virtual desktop collection.
+ CategoryInfo : WriteError: (:) [Start-RDVMRollout], RDManagementException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : StartRDVirtualMachineRollout,Microsoft.RemoteDesktopServices.Management.Cmdlets.StartRDVirtualMachineRo
lloutCommand
+ PSComputerName : localhost
CollectionName Type Size PercentInUse
Pooled Managed... PooledManaged 0 0
writeErrorStream : True
OriginInfo : localhost
Exception : System.Management.Automation.RemoteException: Unable to retrieve the details of the virtual desktop
collection.
TargetObject :
CategoryInfo : WriteError: (:) [Start-RDVMRollout], RDManagementException
FullyQualifiedErrorId : StartRDVirtualMachineRollout,Microsoft.RemoteDesktopServices.Management.Cmdlets.StartRDVirtualMachineRolloutCo
mmand
ErrorDetails :
InvocationInfo :
ScriptStackTrace :
PipelineIterationInfo : {}
PSMessageDetails :
Without the answer file parameter is runs perfectly, BUT the VDI machines get the OOBE.... That's not what we want off course....
This link (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2747656?wa=wsignin1.0) and other sources tell me that when i set the regkeys i can find a log in c:\windows\logs, but there is
nothing. I looked on the management server and the connection broker.
The only thing i could find in the event viewer was this:
The XML input specified for the VM Provisioning job is not in a valid format. Error: 0xC00CEE03
Input XML:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rdvp:RDVProvisioning xmlns:rdvp="http://www.microsoft.com/rdv/2010/05/">
<rdvp:ProvisionPoolRequest><rdvp:Job>
<rdvp:Action>Create</rdvp:Action>
<rdvp:OnError>Stop</rdvp:OnError></rdvp:Job>
<rdvp:Pool><rdvp:Name>Pooled_Managed_W</rdvp:Name>
<rdvp:Type></rdvp:Type>
<rdvp:VhdType>DiffDisk</rdvp:VhdType>
<rdvp:SaveDelay></rdvp:SaveDelay>
<rdvp:Version></rdvp:Version>
<rdvp:MARK_HA>No</rdvp:MARK_HA></rdvp:Pool>
<rdvp:Vm>
<rdvp:BaseVmLocation>\\RDSCB01\RDVirtualDesktopTemplate\Pooled_Managed_W\IMGS\__3</rdvp:BaseVmLocation>
<rdvp:LocalVmCreationPath>E:\_VDI</rdvp:LocalVmCreationPath>
<rdvp:LocalGoldCachePath></rdvp:LocalGoldCachePath>
<rdvp:SMBShare></rdvp:SMBShare>
<rdvp:EnableVmStreaming>0</rdvp:EnableVmStreaming>
<rdvp:RunVMsFromSMB>0</rdvp:RunVMsFromSMB>
<rdvp:NamingPrefix>Pooled-Win8</rdvp:NamingPrefix>
<rdvp:NamingStartIndex>1</rdvp:NamingStartIndex>
<rdvp:Domain>lab.local</rdvp:Domain>
<rdvp:OU>OU=VDI,OU=Computers,OU=Kamer 2101,DC=lab,DC=local</rdvp:OU>
<rdvp:ProductKey></rdvp:ProductKey>
<rdvp:UnattendXml>
<![CDATA[<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<OOBE>
<HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
<HideLocalAccountScreen>true</HideLocalAccountScreen>
<HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
<HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
<HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
<NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
<ProtectYourPC>3</ProtectYourPC>
<SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
<SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
</OOBE>
</component>
</settings>
</unattend>]]>
</rdvp:UnattendXml>
</rdvp:Vm>
<rdvp:HyperVHosts>
<rdvp:HyperVHost>
<rdvp:Name>hyper02.lab.local</rdvp:Name>
<rdvp:NumberVms>3</rdvp:NumberVms>
</rdvp:HyperVHost>
</rdvp:HyperVHosts>
</rdvp:ProvisionPoolRequest>
</rdvp:RDVProvisioning>----------------------------------------------------------------------Log Name: Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-SessionBroker/Admin
Source: TerminalServices-SessionBroker
EventID: 1549
Level: Error
User: NETWORK SERVICE
Task Category: MS VM Provisioning Plugin
Computer: RDSCB01.lab.local
I hope we can get this working, thanks in advance everybody!
Regards,
Bart

Answer 1

Hi Bartsp34ks,
I'm trying to make a powershell script like yours.
But at some point I receive this error:
System.Management.Automation.RemoteException: VM ASD-1: The data area passed to a system call is too small. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007007A)
My Powershell script is:
$CollectionName = Read-Host 'What Name should the Collection have?'
$Description = Read-Host 'Type a description of the Collection'
$OU = Read-Host 'In which OU should I put the Collection?'
$ConnectionBroker = Read-Host 'What is the Connection Broker Name? (use FQDN)'
$Sysprep = Read-Host 'Type the Unattend file location'
$DesktopAllocation = Read-Host 'On which RD Virtualization Host server should I create the Collection?'
$DesktopAllocationNR = Read-Host 'How many Virtual Desktop would you like?'
$NamePrefix = Read-Host 'What is the Prefix Name?'
$NameSuffix = Read-Host 'What is the Suffix Name?'
$UserGroup = Read-Host 'Which User Group can use the Collection?'
$UserProfile = Read-Host 'How big can the ProfileDisk be?'
$TemplateServer = Read-Host 'What is the RD Host that has the Virtual Desktop Template? (use FQDN)'
$TemplateName = Read-Host 'What is the Virtual Desktop Template Name?'
$UserProfilePath = Read-Host 'What should be the User Profile Path?'
$StorageType = Read-Host 'How should be stored?'
$StoragePath = Read-Host 'Type the Path'
New-RDVirtualDesktopCollection `
-CollectionName $CollectionName `
-Description $Description `
-OU $OU `
-ConnectionBroker $ConnectionBroker `
-PooledManaged `
-CustomSysprepUnattendFilePath $Sysprep `
-VirtualDesktopAllocation @{$DesktopAllocation=$DesktopAllocationNR} `
-VirtualDesktopNamePrefix $NamePrefix `
-UserGroups $UserGroup `
-MaxUserProfileDiskSizeGB $UserProfile `
-VirtualDesktopTemplateHostServer $TemplateServer `
-VirtualDesktopTemplateName $TemplateName `
-UserProfileDiskPath $UserProfilePath `
-StorageType LocalStorage `
-LocalStoragePath $StoragePath `
-Force `
-Debug
$error[0]|format-list -force
Thanks for help