5.2

Select the Software option if you have ESXi 5.0 hosts only, or the ESXi 5.1 hosts do not have GPU graphics
cards, or your users only run applications, such as AERO and Microsoft Office, that do not require hardware
graphics acceleration.
Configuring Desktop Settings to Manage GPU Resources
You can configure other desktop settings to ensure that GPU resources are not wasted when users are not
actively using them.
For
floating pools, set a session timeout so that GPU resources are freed up for other users when a user is not
using the desktop.
For dedicated pools, you can configure the Automatically logoff after disconnect setting to Immediately and
a Suspend power policy if these settings are appropriate for your users. For example, do not use these settings
for a pool of researchers who execute long-running simulations.
Examining GPU Resources on an ESXi Host
To better manage the GPU resources that are available on an ESXi host, you can examine the current GPU
resource reservation. The ESXi command-line query utility, gpuvm, lists the GPUs that are installed on an ESXi
host and displays the amount of GPU memory that is reserved for each virtual machine on the host. Note that
this GPU memory reservation is not the same as virtual machine VRAM size.
To run the utility, type gpuvm from a shell prompt on the ESXi host. You can use a console on the host or an
SSH connection.
For example, the utility might display the following output:
~ # gpuvm
Xserver unix:0, GPU maximum memory 2076672KB
pid 118561, VM "JB-w7-64-FC3", reserved 131072KB of GPU memory.
pid 64408, VM "JB-w7-64-FC5", reserved 261120KB of GPU memory.
GPU memory left 1684480KB.
Prevent Access to View Desktops Through RDP
In certain View environments, it is a priority to prohibit access to View desktops through the RDP display
protocol. You can prevent users and administrators from using RDP to access View desktops by configuring
pool settings and a group policy setting.
By default, while a user is logged in to a View desktop session, you can use RDP to connect to the desktop
virtual machine from outside of View. The RDP connection terminates the View desktop session, and the View
user's unsaved data and settings might be lost. The View user cannot log in to the desktop until the external
RDP connection is closed. To avoid this situation, disable the AllowDirectRDP setting.
NOTE Remote Desktop Services, called Terminal Services on Windows XP systems, must be started on the
virtual machine that you use to create pools and on View desktops. Remote Desktop Services are required for
View Agent installation, SSO, and other View session-management operations.
Prerequisites
Verify that the View Agent Configuration Administrative Template file is installed in Active Directory. See
“Using the View Group Policy Administrative Template Files,” on page 180.
Chapter 5 Creating Desktop Pools
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