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GCP Sole-Tenant Nodes - Windows 11 on GCP

Overview

The GCP Sole-Tenant Nodes with Frame deployment option allows customers to run virtual desktops and applications on dedicated physical hosts within Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This model is required for Windows 11 workloads on GCP and is currently supported only for customers using Bring-Your-Own (BYO) Microsoft licensing. This option is ideal for customers with strict regulatory, licensing, or workload-isolation needs who want to leverage Frame on GCP while retaining full hardware control.

By provisioning workloads on GCP Sole-Tenant Nodes, organizations gain:

·       Dedicated hardware isolation for improved security and compliance

·       Full control over VM placement to meet software licensing requirements

·       Predictable performance by preventing noisy-neighbor scenarios

Description

To run Windows 11 workloads on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) within the Dizzion Frame platform, the deployment must use GCP Sole-Tenant Nodes. This configuration ensures compliance with Microsoft licensing requirements and supports the use of customer-provided Windows 11 images.

Prerequisites

Before enabling GCP Sole-Tenant Nodes in Frame, ensure the following requirements are in place:

  •        An existing GCP cloud account integrated with Frame
  •        BYO Windows licensing for Windows 11 workloads
  •        If you want to use BYO Image, a Windows 11 image must be prepared and imported according to GCP requirements OR you can use Frame-managed Image (recommended)
  •        Required IAM permissions in the GCP project to support Sole-Tenant Node deployment and image operations
  •        An active Dizzion Support request to enable Sole-Tenant configuration for the Frame account

Workflow

Step 1. Contact Dizzion Support

Please follow the standard procedure and contact Dizzion Support team as explained here: https://docs.difr.com/books/dizzion-support/page/contact-support   
Request to enable the Sole-Tenant Nodes option for GCP. Once submitted, Dizzion Support will review your environment to confirm that all prerequisites are met and then enable Sole-Tenant Node support for your Frame Customer Account.

Step 2. Choose or Prepare the Windows 11 Image

You can use Frame-managed Image or prepare BYO Windows 11 Image.

If you need to create your own Windows 11 Image, please do that by following the official GCP guidance for Windows image creation and import as explained here. As a final step you need to install Frame Guest Agent: https://docs.difr.com/books/platform-administrators-guide/page/frame-agent-setup-tool-fast  and import newly created master image into your GCP Cloud Account.

Preparing and importing BYO Image can also be done by following this guide:
 
Step 1 – Create the Windows 11 VHD

·       In VirtualBox, create a new VM and select Windows 11 (64-bit).

·       Enable UEFI boot in the VM settings (System > Motherboard > Enable EFI).

·       Create the disk as VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) format.

·       Install Windows 11 normally and perform all required configurations.

·       Once ready, shut down the VM.



Step 2 – Upload VHD to Cloud Storage

·       Create or choose a GCS bucket (for example image-builder-raw-images).

·       Upload the VHD file:

I.e : gsutil cp "C:\Path\to\Windows11.vhd" gs://image-builder-raw-images/
 

Step 3 – Import the Image into GCP

Run the following command to import your VHD as a custom image:

gcloud compute images import windows11baseimage \
  --source-file gs://bucketname/disk.[AM1] vhd \
  --guest-os-features=UEFI_COMPATIBLE \
  --byol
 

Step 3. Add additional IAM permissions

Please make sure that following permissions are added for the Cloud Account:

·       --role=roles/compute.storageAdmin

·       --role=roles/dns.admin

·       --role=roles/iam.serviceAccountUser

·       --role=roles/compute.admin

NOTE: For the Customers that added GCP Cloud Account after November 12th 2024 these IAM permissions are already assinged.

Step 4. Deploy Frame Account on Sole-Tenant Nodes
After enablement is complete, you can create Frame accounts and deploy workloads on Sole-Tenant Nodes using your Windows 11 image.

Step 5. Validate Deployment

Verify that virtual machines launch successfully on dedicated Sole-Tenant Nodes and confirm that licensing requirements and expected performance characteristics are met

Our example from GCP Console:

 

Cost Considerations

GCP Sole-Tenant Nodes generally have significantly higher costs than standard shared compute instances. Customers should work with their GCP account team to review pricing and consider discounted models such as Committed Use or Sustained Use agreements before deployment. Dizzion does not control GCP pricing and strongly recommends evaluating cost implications prior to enabling this feature. 

 

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