6.1.1

Table 11‑12. 3D Renderer Options for Pools Running on vSphere 5.1 or Later (Continued)
Option Description
NVIDIA GRID
vGPU
3D rendering is enabled. The ESXi host reserves GPU hardware resources on a first-come, first-
served basis as virtual machines are powered on. If a user tries to connect to a machine when all
GPU hardware resources are being used by other virtual machines on the host, View Connection
Server will attempt to move the virtual machine to another ESXi host in the cluster before
powering on.
Use this setting when configuring NVIDIA GRID vGPU.
When you select the NVIDIA GRID vGPU option, the Configure VRAM for 3D Guests, Max
number of monitors, and Max resolution of any one monitor settings are inactive in View
Administrator. When you configure the parent virtual machine or virtual machine template with
vSphere Web Client, you are prompted to reserve all memory.
IMPORTANT If you configure the NVIDIA GRID vGPU option, consider these potential
constraints:
n
The virtual machine cannot be suspended or resumed. Therefore the Remote Machine Power
Policy option for suspending the virtual machine is not available.
n
If you use vMotion to move the machine to an ESXi host that does not have GPU hardware
configured, the virtual machine will not power on. Live vMotion is not available.
n
All ESXi hosts in the cluster must be version 6.0 or later, and the virtual machines must be
hardware version 11 or later.
n
If an ESXi cluster contains a host that is NVIDIA GRID vGPU enabled and a host that is not
NVIDIA GRID vGPU enabled, the hosts display a yellow (warning) status in the View
Administrator Dashboard. If a user tries to connect to a machine when all GPU hardware
resources are being used by other virtual machines on the host, View Connection Server will
attempt to move the virtual machine to another ESXi host in the cluster before powering on. In
this case, hosts that are not NVIDIA GRID vGPU enabled cannot be used for this type of
dynamic migration.
Disabled 3D rendering is inactive.
Table 11‑13. 3D Renderer Options for Pools Running on vSphere 5.0
Option Description
Enabled The 3D Renderer option is enabled. The ESXi host uses software 3D graphics rendering.
When software rendering is configured, the default VRAM size is 64MB, the minimum size. In the
Configure VRAM for 3D Guests dialog box, you can use the slider to increase the amount of
VRAM that is reserved. With software rendering, the ESXi host allocates up to a maximum of
128MB per virtual machine. If you set a higher VRAM size, it is ignored.
Disabled 3D rendering is inactive.
If a desktop pool is running on earlier vSphere version than 5.0, the 3D Renderer setting is inactive and is
not available in View Administrator.
Best Practices for Configuring 3D Rendering
The 3D rendering options and other pool settings offer various advantages and drawbacks. Select the option
that best supports your vSphere hardware infrastructure and your users' requirements for graphics
rendering.
NOTE This topic provides an overview of the controls you find in View Administrator. For detailed
information about all the various choices and requirements for 3D rendering, see the VMware white paper
about graphics acceleration.
Setting Up Desktop and Application Pools in View
130 VMware, Inc.