In the Dec 4th, 2023 for Windows 365 Enterprise, the reports for Cloud PC actions were announced. In today’s post, I will showcase how to access and make sense of the new report available within Microsoft Intune.
What does the report offer?
The Cloud PC Actions Report, currently in public preview, is a powerful report within the Windows 365 ecosystem. It provides detailed information on various actions taken by administrators on the Cloud PCs. Imagine you have multiple teams and admins within your organisation. This report can help you track the actions along with the Status and Date initiated, which can come in handy for troubleshooting and audit purposes.
Accessing the report – Cloud PC Actions
To view the report in Microsoft Intune portal, you can follow these steps:
- Login to the Microsoft Intune admin center.
- Go to Devices > Monitor > Others > Cloud PC Actions (preview).
What Actions are displayed?
The following actions are included in the report:
| Action | Description |
| Create Snapshot | This action allows administrators to capture the current state of a Cloud PC. It’s useful for backup purposes or before making significant changes, ensuring that there’s a point to revert back to if needed. |
| Move Region | This feature enables the relocation of a Cloud PC to a different geographic region. It’s particularly beneficial for organizations with a global presence, ensuring that Cloud PCs are hosted closer to where the users are located, potentially improving performance and compliance with regional data laws. |
| Place Under Review | This action is used to flag a Cloud PC for further examination. It could be due to performance issues, security concerns, or compliance checks. Placing a PC under review may restrict certain functionalities until the review is completed. |
| Power On/Off (W365 Frontline only) | Specific to Windows 365 Frontline, this action allows administrators to remotely power on or off a Cloud PC. This is crucial for managing devices in a frontline environment, where PCs might need to be controlled outside of regular working hours. |
| Reprovision | Reprovisioning a Cloud PC involves resetting it to its initial state. This action is useful when a PC needs to be reassigned to a different user or if it’s experiencing significant issues that can’t be resolved through regular troubleshooting. |
| Resize | This action refers to changing the size/specifications of a Cloud PC, such as adjusting its CPU, RAM, or storage. It’s essential for adapting to changing workload requirements or optimizing resource allocation. |
| Restart | Administrators can remotely restart a Cloud PC. This is a basic but critical action for applying updates, implementing configuration changes, or resolving minor issues. |
| Restore | This action allows the restoration of a Cloud PC to a previous state using a saved snapshot. It’s a vital feature for recovery scenarios, such as after a failed update or when dealing with software issues. |
| Troubleshoot | This is a general action that encompasses various diagnostic and repair tasks to resolve issues with a Cloud PC. It might include running automated diagnostics, checking logs, or applying fixes. |
How This Report Benefits You
- Enhanced Troubleshooting: Quickly identify failed actions and understand potential reasons for failure.
- Efficient Management: Monitor ongoing actions and ensure smooth operation of Cloud PCs.
- Actionable Insights: Make informed decisions based on the status and details of actions taken.
If you have a failed action you can select and click on retry and it will try to perform the action on your behalf.
Bonus – PowerShell Access to Cloud PC Actions Report
To get the csv download of the report via MS Graph follow these steps:
Connect to MS Graph API
Step 1 – Install the MS Graph Powershell Module
#Install Microsoft Graph Beta Module
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Install-Module Microsoft.Graph.BetaStep 2 – Connect to scopes and specify which API you wish to authenticate to. If you are only doing read-only operations, I suggest you connect to “CloudPC.Read.All” in our case, we are creating the policy, so we need to change the scope to “CloudPC.ReadWrite.All”
#Read-only
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "CloudPC.Read.All" -NoWelcome
Welcome To Microsoft Graph!
OR
#Read-Write
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "CloudPC.ReadWrite.All" -NoWelcome
Welcome To Microsoft Graph!
Step 3 – Check the User account by running the following beta command.
#Beta APIs
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Get-MgBetaUser -UserId admin@wdomain.com
Download the csv Report
You will pass the following $prams variable with all the fields within the report. GitHub link – avdwin365mem/cloudpcactionreport at main · askaresh/avdwin365mem (github.com)
$params = @{
top = 50
skip = 0
search = ""
filter = ""
select = @(
"Id"
"CloudPcId"
"CloudPcDeviceDisplayName"
"DeviceOwnerUserPrincipalName"
"Action"
"ActionState"
"InitiatedByUserPrincipalName"
"RequestDateTime"
"LastUpdatedDateTime"
)
orderBy = @(
"LastUpdatedDateTime desc"
)
}
Get-MgBetaDeviceManagementVirtualEndpointReportActionStatusReport -BodyParameter $params
The Cloud PC Actions Report is a significant addition to Windows 365, offering a level of transparency and control that administrators have long sought. I hope you will find this helpful information for tracking the Cloud PC actions via this report. Please let me know if I have missed any steps or details, and I will be happy to update the post.
Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari
Recent Comments