A technical guide to deploying a working demo IGEL Universal Management Suite environment from infrastructure setup to your first onboarded endpoint and connecting through to back-end services.
What This Guide Covers
This guide is designed to walk IT teams, consultants, and platform architects through the complete setup of an IGEL UMS environment from provisioning a server to onboarding your first IGEL OS 12 device. The goal is a working, demo environment that lets you explore IGEL’s management capabilities before committing to production architecture.
How long it should take to setup the demo environment
Once you have the server available for install the effort required to complete the below guide is 4-6 hours. This can be broken up in to logical parts so it can be distributed across a week duration.
What’s Covered and What Isn’t
| In Scope | Out of Scope |
| • UMS prerequisites and sizing • Core UMS installation • IGEL Cloud Services enablement • Microsoft Entra ID integration • IGEL OS 12 onboarding setup • Profile and device validation | • Production hardening • UMS scale-out and HA • External database migration • IGEL Cloud Gateway • Ongoing operational processes |
Who This Is For
Customer IT Infrastructure and EUC teams, delivery and implementation consultants, platform architects, and operational support teams.
Demo Account & Trial Licensing
Before anything else, you’ll need two separate portal registrations. Both require an individual work email address generic or shared mailboxes are not supported.
- Register in the IGEL Customer Portal using your work email. This account controls UMS onboarding, cloud services configuration, and identity setup Welcome to IGEL Cloud Services! – Customer Portal
- Register in the IGEL License Portal (same or different work email). You’ll use your exported UMS ID to associate trial licenses with your environment
IGEL License Portal
- Await trial license assignment after registration approval. Refer to IGEL’s onboarding documentation for specific initiation steps once approval is confirmed
How to Start with IGEL
Infrastructure Sizing
The following specs represent a solid baseline for test and evaluation environments. Production deployments will need separate sizing assessments based on scale, availability requirements, and your operational model.
UMS Server • OS: Windows Server 2025/2022 (preferred) • vCPU: 8 vCPU • Memory: 16 GB • Disk: • 100 GB OS • 100+ GB data (profiles, logs, backups) • TLS: Certificate trusted by endpoints (default or enterprise CA) | Database • Embedded database supported and recommended for test environments • External SQL / HA designs are out of scope for this guide Network • Required ports opened per IGEL guidance • DNS resolution for UMS FQDN • Internet access for IGEL Cloud Services • Network reachability to managed endpoints |
The following article details the firewall rules required between the components, for the demo environment the primary set of rules are between the IGEL OS 12 endpoint, the UMS server and the IGEL Cloud services:
With your server provisioned, the UMS installation is a guided process. You’ll install the UMS Server, Web App, and Console in a single pass using the Standard (single-instance) configuration.
Reference Articles
- Installing / Upgrading to IGEL UMS 12
- Supported Environment IGEL UMS 12
- Web Certificates in the IGEL UMS
Steps Overview
- Download the ‘IGEL Universal Management Suite 12’ and the ‘OS 12 Base System OS Creator’ from the IGEL Software Downloads portal
- Run the installer on the target Windows Server and select Standard UMS (single instance)
- Complete embedded database configuration and verify all UMS services are running post-install
- Configure self-signed or CA-issued certificates for UMS services to ensure trusted TLS communication with endpoints
- Validate access to the UMS Web App at https://<UMS FQDN>:8443
Registering the UMS
Registration unlocks licensing, the IGEL App Portal, and all cloud integrations. This is a three-way registration across the UMS Console, the License Portal, and the Customer Portal.
Reference Articles
Steps Overview
- Export the UMS ID certificate from the UMS Console
- Register the UMS in both the IGEL License Portal and IGEL Customer Portal
- In the Customer Portal, confirm the App Portal and Insight Services are enabled, then upload the registered UMS ID back into the UMS instance
Onboarding Service (OBS)
Microsoft Entra ID Integration
Entra ID integration enables users to sign into devices with their existing credentials and drives the identity-based onboarding flow.
Reference Articles
Steps Overview
- Create an Entra ID enterprise application for IGEL Cloud Services within your Azure tenant
- Register the application in the IGEL Cloud Portal and assign the relevant users or groups
- Confirm authentication and role mapping by ensuring users can sign in and that role assignments flow through correctly
IGEL’s onboarding model routes new devices to the correct UMS via cloud services. Setting up the Onboarding Service (OBS) is what makes zero-touch device registration possible.
Reference Articles
Steps Overview
- Download the UMS root certificate chain from the UMS Web App
- In the IGEL Customer Portal, navigate to IGEL OS Onboarding and register the UMS host as a trusted onboarding target
- Configure a unique domain mapping and/or selected users, then upload the UMS certificate chain to complete trust establishment
UMS 12 – Initial Configuration
With the infrastructure running, configure the core system settings, administrator access, and your profile structure before onboarding any devices.
KB Articles
Steps Overview
- Log into the UMS Web App as superuser.
- Under the UMS Administration> Administrative Tasks section enable system logging, automated backups (embedded DB), and configure log and data cleanup schedules
- Define a global ‘Device naming conventions’ for devices that are onboarded
- Integrate with Active Directory / LDAP if required, import admin users or groups, and apply role-based access control
- Download base applications from the App Portal: IGEL OS, IGEL Azure Virtual Desktop Client, Microsoft Edge Browser, and the Microsoft Intune Agent for IGEL OS
- Create your logical folder structure for devices and profiles
Configure Initial Profiles
Before onboarding devices, it’s worth getting your profile structure in place. IGEL provides ready-made example profiles for OS, VDI, and local scenarios — importing these gives you a working baseline to test against and adjust rather than starting from scratch.
Reference Article
Steps Overview
- Download the example OS, VDI, and local profiles (*.ipm) from the Quick Start Configuration Profiles for Setting up Your IGEL Environment resource
- Import the profiles via UMS Web App → Configuration → Import Profiles
- Assign profiles to your logical profile structure — align each profile to the folder hierarchy you built during UMS configuration
- Review and adjust profile settings as required for your specific test scenarios before pushing anything to devices
- Assign profiles to device folders so they are applied automatically when endpoints are moved into the correct folder during onboarding
Onboarding An IGEL OS 12 Device
With UMS configured and cloud services active, you’re ready to onboard an endpoint. This validates the entire pipeline, from device boot to license and profile application.
Reference Articles
Steps Overview
- Install IGEL OS 12 on the endpoint device either with the OS Creator tool, or the ISO available in the zip file
- Boot the device and complete the IGEL setup assistant
- The user signs in using Entra ID credentials —triggers onboarding via IGEL Cloud Services
- Confirm the device appears in UMS (root folder), then move it to the appropriate folder and trigger a reboot
- Validate application, profile, and license deployment confirm settings persist after reboot to complete the end-to-end test
Validation Checklist
Use this checklist to track your progress through the deployment. Tick each item as you complete it.
| Area | Checks |
| Infrastructure | ☐ Windows Server built and patches ☐ Server sized per baseline recommendation ☐ DNS resolution UMS FQDN ☐ Firewall rules configured |
| UMS | ☐ UMS installed successfully ☐ Web App accessible on port 8443 ☐ Services running and healthy |
| Licensing and Cloud | ☐ UMS registered in IGEL Customer Portal ☐ Licenses synced ☐ IGEL Cloud Services activated |
| Identity | ☐ Entra ID app registered ☐ Client ID and secret configured ☐ Users or groups assigned |
| Onboarding | ☐ UMS linked to IGEL Cloud Services ☐ Certificate chain uploaded ☐ Routing configured |
| Configuration | ☐ Profiles imported ☐ Profiles assigned to folders/devices |
| Validation | ☐ Test device onboarded ☐ License applied ☐ Profiles applied ☐ Reboot persistence confirmed |
Reference Articles
All key documentation referenced throughout this guide, collected in one place for quick access.
| Topic | Resources |
| UMS sizing, supported platforms, database and architecture guidance | Sizing Guidelines for IGEL UMS 12 and IGEL OS 12 |
| IGEL Software download | Software Downloads – IGEL OS 12 Secure Endpoint | IGEL |
| Firewall and network port requirements | IGEL UMS Communication Ports |
| Installing the IGEL UMS server, Web App and Console | Installing / Upgrading to IGEL UMS 12 |
| Configuring Web Certificates on the UMS services | Web Certificates in the IGEL UMS |
| Registering UMS with the IGEL Customer Portal and licensing | Registering the UMS |
| Activating IGEL Cloud Services and OS onboarding | Initial Configuration of the IGEL Onboarding Service (OBS) |
| Linking IGEL Cloud Services to Microsoft Entra ID | Configuring Microsoft Entra ID as Identity Provider |
| Importing IGEL OS / AVD example profile (.ipm) files | Quick Start Configuration Profiles for Setting up Your IGEL Environment |
| Onboarding IGEL OS 12 devices | Onboarding IGEL OS 12 Devices |
Let’s build your IGEL environment together.
Whether you’re evaluating IGEL for the first time or preparing for a full enterprise rollout, the right architecture decisions early on can save significant time and operational complexity later.
Our team works with organisations to design, deploy, and optimise IGEL environments that are secure, scalable, and aligned with modern EUC platforms.
If you’re planning a proof of concept, pilot, or production deployment, we can help you get there faster.
Contact us and let’s talk.
