Before you install Connection Server, you must verify that your installation environment satisfies specific prerequisites.

  • You must have a valid license key for Horizon 7.
  • You must join the Connection Server host to an Active Directory domain. Connection Server supports the following Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain functional levels:
    • Windows Server 2008
    • Windows Server 2008 R2
    • Windows Server 2012
    • Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Windows Server 2016
    • Windows Server 2019 (Horizon 7 7.13.1 and later)

    The Connection Server host must not be a domain controller.

    Note: Connection Server does not make, nor does it require, any schema or configuration updates to Active Directory.
  • Do not install Connection Server on systems that have the Windows Terminal Server role installed. You must remove the Windows Terminal Server role from any system on which you install Connection Server.
  • Do not install Connection Server on a system that performs any other functions or roles. For example, do not use the same system to host vCenter Server.
  • The system on which you install Connection Server must have an IP address that does not change. In an IPv4 environment, configure a static IP address. In an IPv6 environment, machines automatically get IP addresses that do not change.
  • To run the Horizon Connection Server installer, you must use a domain user account with Administrator privileges on the system.
  • When you install Connection Server, you authorize an Administrators account. You can specify the local Administrators group or a domain user or group account. Horizon 7 assigns full administration rights, including the right to install replicated Connection Server instances, to this account only. If you specify a domain user or group, you must create the account in Active Directory before you run the installer.
  • When you are preparing virtual machines on which to install the connection servers, you must use Sysprep on each virtual machine so that each virtual machine has a unique SID before installing Connection Server on each virtual machine separately. You can clone additional virtual machines from an existing virtual machine template but you must do so prior to installing the Connection Server on the virtual machine template. Do not install Connection Server on a virtual machine, and then clone this virtual machine that has Connection Server installed into additional Connection Server virtual machines. The correct process is to first clone a virtual machine from a virtual machine template that does not have Connection Server installed, run Sysprep on each cloned virtual machine, and then install the Connection Server on each machine separately.
Note: Never import the ADAM data to a Connection Server from another Connection Server which is not part of the cluster. For example, do not import ADAM data from a different pod in a CPA environment. Doing so will override the CMS key and subsequently decryption of sensitive ADAM data will fail. This is a non recoverable error and will require building the environment again.