5.2
Table Of Contents
- VMware Horizon View Architecture Planning
- Contents
- VMware Horizon View Architecture Planning
- Introduction to Horizon View
- Planning a Rich User Experience
- Feature Support Matrix
- Choosing a Display Protocol
- Using View Persona Management to Retain User Data and Settings
- Benefits of Using View Desktops in Local Mode
- Accessing USB Devices Connected to a Local Computer
- Printing from a View Desktop
- Streaming Multimedia to a View Desktop
- Using Single Sign-On for Logging In to a View Desktop
- Using Multiple Monitors with a View Desktop
- Managing Desktop Pools from a Central Location
- Architecture Design Elements and Planning Guidelines
- Virtual Machine Requirements
- Horizon View ESX/ESXi Node
- Desktop Pools for Specific Types of Workers
- Desktop Virtual Machine Configuration
- vCenter Server and View Composer Virtual Machine Configuration
- View Connection Server Maximums and Virtual Machine Configuration
- View Transfer Server Virtual Machine Configuration and Storage
- vSphere Clusters
- Storage and Bandwidth Requirements
- Horizon View Building Blocks
- Horizon View Pods
- Advantages of Using Multiple vCenter Servers in a Pod
- Planning for Security Features
- Understanding Client Connections
- Choosing a User Authentication Method
- Restricting View Desktop Access
- Using Group Policy Settings to Secure View Desktops
- Implementing Best Practices to Secure Client Systems
- Assigning Administrator Roles
- Preparing to Use a Security Server
- Understanding Horizon View Communications Protocols
- Overview of Steps to Setting Up a Horizon View Environment
- Index
Managing Desktop Pools from a
Central Location 3
You can create pools that include one or hundreds or thousands of virtual desktops. As a desktop source, you
can use virtual machines, physical machines, and Windows Terminal Services servers. Create one virtual
machine as a base image, and Horizon View can generate a pool of virtual desktops from that image. You can
easily install or stream applications to pools with VMware ThinApp.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“Advantages of Desktop Pools,” on page 27
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“Reducing and Managing Storage Requirements,” on page 28
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“Application Provisioning,” on page 30
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“Using Active Directory GPOs to Manage Users and Desktops,” on page 32
Advantages of Desktop Pools
Horizon View offers the ability to create and provision pools of desktops as its basis of centralized management.
You create a virtual desktop pool from one of the following sources:
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A physical system such as a physical desktop PC or a Windows Terminal Services server
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A virtual machine that is hosted on an ESX/ESXi host and managed by vCenter Server
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A virtual machine that runs on VMware Server or some other virtualization platform that supports View
Agent
If you use a vSphere virtual machine as a desktop source, you can automate the process of making as many
identical virtual desktops as you need. You can set a minimum and maximum number of virtual desktops to
be generated for the pool. Setting these parameters ensures that you always have enough View desktops
available for immediate use but not so many that you overuse available resources.
Using pools to manage desktops allows you to apply settings or deploy applications to all virtual desktops in
a pool. The following examples show some of the settings available:
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Specify which remote display protocol to use as the default for the View desktop and whether to let end
users override the default.
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If using a virtual machine, specify whether to power off the virtual machine when it is not in use and
whether to delete it altogether.
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If using vSphere 4.1 or later, specify whether to use a Microsoft Sysprep customization specification or
QuickPrep from VMware. Sysprep generates a unique SID and GUID for each virtual machine in the pool.
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Specify whether the View desktop can or must be downloaded and run on a local client system.
VMware, Inc.
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