Requirements for Azure RemoteApp images

[AZURE.IMPORTANT] Azure RemoteApp is being discontinued. Read the announcement for details.

Azure RemoteApp uses a Windows Server 2012 R2 image to host all the programs that you want to share with your users. To create a custom image, you can start with an existing image or create a new one.

[AZURE.TIP] Did you know that your Azure RemoteApp subscription gives you access to a Windows Server 2012 R2 image in the Azure VM gallery that you can use to create your own template image? Check it out.

The requirements for the image that can be uploaded for use with Azure RemoteApp are:

  • Custom applications don’t store data locally on the image. These images are stateless and should only contain applications.
  • The image does not contain data that can be lost.
  • The image size should be a multiple of MBs. If you try to upload an image that is not an exact multiple, the upload will fail.
  • The image size must be 127 GB or smaller.
  • It must be on a VHD file (VHDX files are not currently supported).
  • The VHD must not be a generation 2 virtual machine.
  • The VHD can be either fixed-size or dynamically expanding. A dynamically expanding VHD is recommended because it takes less time to upload to Azure than a fixed-size VHD file.
  • The disk must be initialized using the Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning style. The GUID partition table (GPT) partition style is not supported.
  • The VHD must contain a single installation of Windows Server 2012 R2. It can contain multiple volumes, but only one that contains an installation of Windows.
  • The Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) role and the Desktop Experience feature must be installed.
  • The Remote Desktop Connection Broker role must not be installed.
  • The Encrypting File System (EFS) must be disabled.
  • The image must be SYSPREPed using the parameters /oobe /generalize /shutdown (DO NOT use the /mode:vm parameter).
  • Uploading your VHD from a snapshot chain is not supported.

See Create an Azure RemoteApp image for more information about creating images for Azure RemoteApp.