How to perform per-machine install of Microsoft OneDrive, Teams for VDI
A Microsoft OneDrive or Teams client can present many challenges in a VDI or Remote Desktop Services environment.
In a managed environment like Remote Desktop Services, users typically don't have installation rights. This doesn't usually matter, because all the necessary software is already installed in the read-only image.
But with Teams and OneDrive clients, the software is installed in the user profile in %APPDATA%. This means every user who signs in and wants to use Microsoft OneDrive or Microsoft Teams for VDI needs to perform an installation in their profile first. This, of course, requires installation rights, and it slows down the first-time login because of the installation running.
As Microsoft invests more in virtualization with Windows Virtual Desktop, however, it has made a per-machine installer of Teams and OneDrive.
To install the OneDrive software per machine, IT can open a command-line browse to the installer and run 'OneDriveSetup.exe' /allusers. Now, the clients will install normally into 'C:\Program Files' just like any other software. When a user signs into the machine, the OneDrive client is in the start menu. Organizations should ensure their profile tool supports this when using OneDrive with VDI. Microsoft's FSLogix software has support for OneDrive; Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 provide files on demand, so the experience is the same as on a local device.
With Microsoft Teams for VDI, IT can use the following command: msiexec /i <path_to_msi> /l*v <install_logfile_name> ALLUSER=1. The Teams per-machine installation is only supported on Citrix and VMware VDI at the moment. IT can bypass this requirement by adding the 'HKLM:\Software\Citrix\PortICA' or 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc\VMware VDM\Agent' key to the registry. That is, however, an unsupported process.