Create a Source Virtual Machine in Fusion Pro

You can use Fusion Pro to create a source virtual machine for a Horizon FLEX virtual machine. When you create a source virtual machine, you must set encryption and restriction information so that the virtual machine functions correctly with Horizon FLEX.

You can also use Workstation Pro to create a source virtual machine. Workstation Pro is not included in the Horizon FLEX package.

If you enable USB device use, drag and drop, and copy and paste features when you create the virtual machine, you can set policies in the Horizon FLEX Admin Console to enable or disable these features for end users. However, if you disable these features when you create the virtual machine, you cannot override the virtual machine settings to enable the features by setting policies.

Horizon FLEX only supports virtual machine names using English characters. Do not use non-ASCII characters in .vmx or .tar filenames. Fusion Pro cannot create Horizon FLEX virtual machines in Japanese or Simplified Chinese.

Note: When preparing a Horizon FLEX virtual machine, make sure that the .vmx policy file is in the same folder as all virtual machine disk (.vmdk) files. If the .vmx file and the virtual machine disk files are in different directories on the client user's machine, then the user will receive an error message when attempting to start the Horizon FLEX virtual machine.

Prerequisites

• Become familiar with how to create a virtual machine in Fusion Pro. See the Fusion documentation at https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Fusion/index.html.
• Become familiar with the supported guest operating systems for Horizon FLEX virtual machines. See Supported Host and Guest Operating Systems.
• Install Fusion Pro with a Horizon FLEX license key .
• If you add certificates to the virtual machine, the trusted certificate must be installed on the Horizon FLEX server or on your local host. See Configure the System Certificate Store for the Horizon FLEX Server.

Procedure

1. Open Fusion Pro and create a virtual machine.

   Select a guest operating system that is supported for Horizon FLEX virtual machines. When the virtual machine is created, Fusion Pro tries to install VMware Tools. VMware Tools is not required, but is recommended. Configure the virtual machine for distribution to your end users.

2. From the Virtual Machine Library, select the new virtual machine and select Settings > Encryption & Restrictions.
3. Select Enable Encryption and set a password for opening the virtual machine.
   The password must be six characters or longer. You must give this encryption password to your end users to enable them to open the virtual machine.
   You must retain the encryption password. You cannot access the virtual machine without this password.
4. Check Enable Restrictions and set a password for editing the restrictions on the virtual machine.
   This password should be different from the virtual machine encryption password.
   You must retain the restrictions password. You cannot edit the restrictions on the virtual machine without this password.
5. Click Configure.
   The restrictions configuration window opens.
6. Set the Restriction Type to Managed.
   You must set the restriction type to Managed to distribute and use the virtual machine with Horizon FLEX.
7. Enter the URL of the Horizon FLEX server on which you intend to host the virtual machine in the Restrictions Management Server text box.
8. Click Check Server to verify the Horizon FLEX server URL.
9. (Optional) To add trusted certificates to the virtual machine, choose one of the following:
   • To add the trusted root certificate directly from the Horizon FLEX server, click Get Server Certificate.

     A dialog box with the full certificate chain retrieved from the Horizon FLEX server appears. Click OK.

   • To add the certificates from the local host, click the + button and navigate to the location of each certificate file.

   If you add certificates to the virtual machine, the Horizon FLEX Client uses the certificates in the virtual machine and does not use the certificates on the host. Do not add the certificate into the virtual machine until you have tested and confirmed that the Horizon FLEX Client can use the certificate to communicate to the server.

10. Click Save.
11. Click the Lock icon to prevent further changes to the restrictions of the virtual machine.
    You can edit restrictions for the virtual machine by using the restrictions password.

What to do next

If you intend to join the Horizon FLEX virtual machine to an Active Directory domain, prepare the virtual machine to join the domain. See Prepare a Source Virtual Machine to Join an Active Directory Domain.

To install the Mirage client in the source virtual machine, see Install the Mirage Client In a Source Virtual Machine.