If your administrator told you to download the Horizon FLEX virtual machine, you must connect to the Horizon FLEX server and download the virtual machine to your Windows machine before you can open it in Workstation Player.

If your Horizon FLEX administrator provided your virtual machine on a USB device or deployed it to your Windows machine, see Open a Horizon FLEX Virtual Machine in Workstation Player.

Obtain the following information from your Horizon FLEX administrator:

  • Instructions about whether to turn on a VPN connection.
  • Instructions about whether to install certificates on your Windows computer.
  • Credentials for connecting to the Horizon FLEX server and logging in to your virtual machine.
  • The encryption password for the virtual machine. You will need this password to open the virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • Install Workstation Player on your Windows machine. See Install or Upgrade the Horizon FLEX Client for Windows.
  • If a VPN connection is required, turn on the VPN.

  • Confirm that the size of free space on the target disk of your machine is more than twice the size of the Horizon FLEX virtual machine TAR file.

Procedure

  1. Connect to the Horizon FLEX server.
    Option Action
    Connect to the server in Workstation Player
    1. On your Windows machine, double-click the VMware Player icon or select Start > All Programs > VMware Player.
    2. Click the Connect to VMware Horizon FLEX Server icon on the Workstation Player toolbar. The Connect to Server dialog box might also open when Workstation Player starts.
    3. In the Connect to Server dialog box, fill in the server host name (with full domain name) or IP address, user name, and type the password. For example, enter "www.companyflex.com:7443", where 7443 is the port number.
    4. Click Connect to connect to the server.

      If your Horizon FLEX client software cannot validate the certificate, you might receive an Invalid Security Certificate warning. If you receive this warning, verify that the certificate is valid with your Horizon FLEX administrator. If the certificate is valid, select the Always trust this host with this certificate check box and click Connect Anyway.

    Connect to the server from a link If you received a link in an email from your Horizon FLEX administrator, perform these steps:
    1. Click the link.
    2. When the Connect to Server dialog box opens, type the password that your Horizon FLEX administrator provided.
    3. Click Connect to connect to the server.

      If your Horizon FLEX client software cannot validate the certificate, you might receive an Invalid Security Certificate warning. If you receive this warning, verify that the certificate is valid with your Horizon FLEX administrator. If the certificate is valid, select the Always trust this host with this certificate check box and click Connect Anyway.

    The virtual machines to which you are entitled appear. Each virtual machine displays an entitlement name and description.
  2. In the Available Desktops window, select the virtual machine to download and click Download.
    Note: You can resize the Available Desktops window to show all the available virtual machines.

    If your Horizon FLEX client software cannot validate the certificate, you might receive an Invalid Security Certificate warning. If you receive this warning, verify that the certificate is valid with your Horizon FLEX administrator. If the certificate is valid, select the Always trust this host with this certificate check box and click Connect Anyway.

    You are prompted to create a shortcut on your desktop. Click Yes to create the shortcut.

  3. Select a location to save the virtual machine and click Select Folder.
    Save the virtual machine in a location that you can readily access.

    Before the download begins, a disclaimer message might appear that requires your acceptance. After the download begins, a status bar shows the progress of the download operation.

    You can click Pause to suspend the download and click Resume to restart the download at a later time. For example, if you suspend a download and exit Workstation Player, you can resume the download the next time you start Workstation Player. You can click Cancel to cancel the download.

    • The virtual machine is downloaded to a temporary folder in the location you selected. The temporary folder is deleted when the download finishes or is cancelled.
    • If the administrator configured a virtual machine re-encryption policy, after the virtual machine is downloaded or registered, a dialog box appears reporting the progress of the re-encryption process. Wait for the process to finish.
  4. Type the encryption password and click OK to open the virtual machine.
  5. When the disclaimer message appears, click Power On if you agree.
    The virtual machine powers on.
  6. Log in to the guest operating system with the login credentials that your Horizon FLEX administrator provided.
    Note:
    • If configured by your Horizon FLEX administrator, you use the password that your administrator provided only the first time that you access the virtual machine.
    • When you open a virtual machine, if you enter an incorrect password three times consecutively, the system locks you out of the virtual machine for 15 minutes.

What to do next

If your virtual machine does not start, see Troubleshooting Horizon FLEX Virtual Machines.