You use entitlements to allow specific users and groups to download and use virtual machine instances from a particular Horizon FLEX image.

Users can download any Horizon FLEX virtual machine to which they are entitled. Users must enter their Active Directory credentials before they can register and use a Horizon FLEX virtual machine for the first time. Users can log in to the Horizon FLEX server and download the virtual machine. Or they can copy the Horizon FLEX virtual machine from a USB and enter the Active Directory credentials when the virtual machine first boots.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Start the Horizon FLEX Admin Console.
    1. In a Web browser, enter https://WebManagerServer:port/rvm.
      • WebManagerServer is the DNS name or IP address of the host where the Mirage Web Manager is installed.
      • port is the port number with which the Horizon FLEX Admin Console can be accessed. When the Mirage Web Manager is installed, if you deploy the Horizon FLEX Admin Console and the Horizon FLEX Policy Server on different ports, port is the port number specified for the VMware Horizon FLEX Web Management option. Otherwise, port is the port number specified for the VMware Mirage Web Management option.
    2. Enter the user name and password of a domain account that has access to Mirage.
    3. Click Login.
  2. Click Entitlements in the left pane.
  3. Click the New (+) button to create an entitlement, select an existing entitlement and click Edit to modify it, or select an existing entitlement and click Duplicate to duplicate it.
  4. Create the entitlement name and assign it to a Horizon FLEX image.
    1. Enter a name for the entitlement in the Entitlement Name text box.

      When users connect to the Horizon FLEX server, the list of entitled virtual machines appears in the Available Desktops window. Each virtual machine displays a virtual machine name and an entitlement name.

      The entitlement name is useful when the same virtual machine is entitled to a user more than once. The user can distinguish such virtual machines by the entitlement name.

    2. Select a Horizon FLEX image to add to the entitlement.
      You can use the search field to filter the list of Horizon FLEX images.
      If you duplicate an existing entitlement, you must rename the duplicate entitlement before saving it.
      When you select the Horizon FLEX image, the download URL for the image is automatically populated in the Download URL text box.
    3. (Optional) In the Download URL text box, change the URL that the client uses to download the Horizon FLEX image.
    4. Click Next.
  5. Select the Active Directory users and groups to include in the entitlement.
    1. Use the search field to find and select users and groups to add to the entitlement.
      New Active Directory users and groups can take up to 15 minutes to appear in search results.
    2. Click Add to add a user or group to the Entitlement Members list.
      You can use the Remove or Clear All buttons to manage the list of members.
    3. Click Next.
  6. Select a policy for the entitlement and click Next.
    You can use the search field to filter the list of policies and the Clear Filter and Show Filter buttons to manage your searches.
  7. (Optional) To use a virtual machine naming pattern, select Use machine name configuration and configure the naming pattern.
    1. Enter the machine name pattern to use in the Machine Name Pattern text box.

      To ensure that each virtual machine receives a different name and can join the domain, include the {username} placeholder. This placeholder is replaced by the individual user's name when the user downloads the virtual machine. You can also create a running number pattern using the {n} placeholder to increment virtual machine numbers with user names.

      For more information, see Create a Virtual Machine Name Pattern.

    2. Enter a domain name in the Domain name text box.
      The name must be for the domain to which the Mirage management server belongs or for one of its child domains.
    3. (Optional) Enter an OU in the Organizational Unittext box.
      For example: OU=hr1, OU=hr, OU=flex, DC=ws, DC=test, DC=com
  8. (Optional) To use server assigned MAC address for entitled restricted virtual machines, select Specify MAC address range and specify the first and last MAC addresses in the range.
    For more information, see Specify a MAC Address Range.
  9. (Optional) Configure Microsoft DirectAccess support for Horizon FLEX virtual machines.
    DirectAccess enables remote users to access shared resources, web sites, and applications on an internal network without connecting over a VPN. To support DirectAccess, the Horizon FLEX virtual machine must be running Windows 8.1 or later. The Horizon FLEX server must be deployed on Windows Server 2012 or later. The Active Directory server must be configured to support DirectAccess. For more information, see the Microsoft documentation.
    1. In the Policy Names field, enter the Group Policy object (GPO) names that are used to initiate DirectAccess.
      Each policy name is the display name of the GPO in the Active Directory directory service. Separate each policy name using a semicolon.
    2. (Optional) Select the Import Root CA Certificates check box to import the root certificate authority certificates.
    3. (Optional) Select the Reuse any existing computer account check box to overwrite any existing computer accounts of the virtual machine at the domain joining operation.
      This setting does not apply when using a serial machine name pattern of {n}.
  10. Click Next.
  11. (Optional) If you installed the Mirage client in the virtual machine, select whether to manage the virtual machine with Mirage.
    Option Description
    Use VMware Mirage for disaster recovery and Image management scenarios Select this option to select a CVD policy, a base layer, an application layer, and other configurations.

    The Mirage server automatically creates a CVD for virtual machines that the end user downloads. Mirage periodically synchronizes end-user data into the data center based on the selected Mirage policy. In the main Mirage Management Console, you can use this data to restore the CVD or access files on the virtual machine by using the Mirage File Portal. The Mirage server also automatically deploys base and application layers to the virtual machine after it has been provisioned for image compliance and remote application delivery.

    Use VMware Mirage for disaster recovery scenarios Select this option to select a CVD policy. The Mirage server creates a CVD for virtual machines that the end user downloads. You can use this data to restore the CVD or access files on the virtual machine by using the Mirage File Portal in the main Mirage Management Console.
    Do not use VMware Mirage to manage the virtual machines Select this option to opt out of managing the virtual machine with Mirage.

    If you delete a virtual machine in which the Mirage client is installed, the Mirage server archives the CVD of the deleted virtual machine.

  12. Click Next and review the settings of the entitlement.
  13. Click Finish to save the entitlement, or click Back to return to the previous page and edit the entitlement.