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Golden Images

A Golden Image is a pre-configured, fully prepared virtual machine snapshot used as the master template for deploying VDI/DaaS instances on on-premises hypervisors. When Cloud Manager provisions an instance from a model that uses a Golden Image, it clones the image to produce each new instance.

For a conceptual introduction to Golden Images and where they fit in the provisioning flow, see Golden Images: Concept and Role.

When Golden Images Are Required

Golden Images are required for all on-premises hypervisors supported by Cloud Manager.

Provider Golden Image Required
VMware (ESXi / Horizon) Yes
Microsoft Hyper-V Yes
Proxmox VE Yes
Oracle KVM (oVirt / OLVM) Yes
Verge.IO Yes
AWS, Azure, GCP, IONOS, Oracle Cloud (OCI) No

Cloud-hosted providers ship with a catalog of marketplace OS images (Windows Server families on AWS / Azure / GCP / IONOS / OCI) that the wizard pre-selects by default. Custom images are still supported on cloud providers via the Use custom configuration option in the Model Selector step. OCI additionally lets you supply a custom image OCID within its built-ins, through the Use Custom Image toggle in the Parameters step.

What Goes Into a Golden Image

A well-prepared Golden Image typically includes:

  • The target operating system (Windows 10/11, Windows Server, Linux distribution)
  • Required drivers for the hypervisor’s virtual hardware (for example, VirtIO drivers for Proxmox and Verge.IO)
  • The Thinfinity® Workspace Virtualization Agent
  • Any standard software installed for all users (browsers, productivity tools, security agents)
  • System preparation (sysprep on Windows, or equivalent) to enable clean per-instance identity assignment at clone time
Warning

Do not include user-specific data, domain join state before sysprep, or software licenses tied to machine identity in the Golden Image. These elements must be configured post-clone or through provisioning automation (for example, Group Policy, MDM, or startup scripts).

Golden Image Workflow

Preparing and using a Golden Image involves five steps: build the base VM, generalize it (sysprep on Windows, or the equivalent on Linux), capture as a snapshot or template, reference it in a model’s Parameters tab, and deploy. See Create a Golden Image for the full procedure.

What’s in This Section

Article Description
Create a Golden Image Generic procedure to prepare and capture a Golden Image
Update a Model to Use a New Golden Image Procedure to update an existing model when the Golden Image is refreshed

See Also